Mandy Rose Chapter 2: Cleithrophobia
by Kae Aleah
Summary: (John/Oc) The brief return of Mandy and John caused an old face to darken their doorstep, ordering Wick to fulfill his marker, despite Mandy's wild protests. She's unable to back away from this though because of the partnership that bounds her and John by blood. As it says in their contract: if one shall fall... then so shall the other. (Second in the Mandy Rose Memorial.)
1. Second Installment

Welcome to the second installment of Mandy Rose. Please read the previous story below if you haven't already.

**Mandy Rose Story Order**

1\. Mandy Rose Chapter 1: Autophobia

2\. **Mandy Rose Chapter 2: Cleithrophobia**


	2. Mirrors That Repeat Mistakes

**MIRRORS THAT REPEAT MISTAKES**

The inside of Tarasov Imports was in a frantic rush as people scrambled in and out of the building, working at a consistent speed while trying to load up all their wealth and transport it to another location. Wealth that ranged between stacks of money and gold bars, all being taken away by cars that were disguised as yellow cabs.

A nervous henchman strolled into Abraham Tarasov's office and gently closed the door behind him. He turned around to face his boss and saw the man sitting at his desk, clearly just as worried as him while breathing in a lit stogie.

"_Is everything loaded?_" Abraham asked, taking in a deep breath of the dense smoke that bitterly filled his lungs

"Almost," the henchman responded.

"Almost." Abraham mocked the words before scoffing.

"Sir, with all due respect, are you sure this is our best option?" the henchman asked, not able to see the logic behind his madness. It felt so abrupt, giving up without a fight. "I mean, why can't we just...correct the problem?"

"Because...!" Abraham raised his quivering voice that was dry with age and smoke. "My fuckin' nephew killed a dog. And he stole a car. A car..." he grimaced with the words falling from his mouth, "which is currently among our inventory."

This only confused him more. "So we're giving everything up for a car?"

"It's not _just_ a car." His eyes were swimming with sinister dread. "It is John Wick's car."

The henchmen froze as everything clicked in his mind. The method behind the madness. "Oh."

Abraham's lips curled up and he leaned far back in his chair, breathing in the heavenly aroma of smoke. His body refused to cease its shaking, breaking out into a cold sweat while rolling his eyes to the back of his skull. He swore he saw his life flash before his eyes, one in which being an old story of a woman who wore danger on her red lips like it was an accessory. "It's not just him though. Because that crazy bitch, Mandy Rose...is back in fucking town!"

The henchmen stood there and just felt reality slip away for a moment, snapping back like a rubber band. "Ah shit." The words just poured from his mouth without a single thought. "Sir, why don't we just give it back?"

Abraham's jaw tightened. "They killed my nephew. My brother. And a dozen of my men. Over his car." He got up from his chair and spoke his words very lowly. "And a puppy. And you...you think they will stop now?"

"Sir, it's just two of them. Why don't we just eliminate them?"

Abraham stared wide-eyed, breathless at the sheer stupidity he had just witnessed, only to laugh at it though. "John Wick is a man of focus, while Mandy Rose is a genius. He has commitment...and she has iron-clad determination. John...has sheer fuckin' will...but Mandy though...is just insane."

Silence held his tongue and the whole world felt like it stood still.

"John Wick once killed three men in a bar..."

"With a pencil, I know." The henchmen shook his head. "I've heard the story."

"With a fucking pencil! Who the fuck can do that?" His heart was beating erratically and he kinda wished he would just drop dead already so he won't have to feel such fear anymore. "10 years ago, Mandy...she dated that Romanov kid who inevitably got killed, and because of that...she massacred 20 of our fucking guys in a single night!" His whole world was beginning to swim with all the stories that sprung from those two."I can assure you that the stories you hear about those two, if nothing else...has been watered down."

* * *

It began with the sound of two motorcycle engines bouncing off the tall buildings in Manhattan. The wet roads acted as a mirror for the iridescent purple signs that hung off the side of the structures, giving an eternal illusion of one's mistakes in a repeating reality that no one could break free from. It was a haunting realization that chilled them to the temperature of absolute zero, feeling nothing left and totally numb to everything around them.

Everything finally came to a head when the slick roads caused a motorcycle rider to topple over and skid across the ground. He leaped up to his feet and hastily limped over to his fallen-over bike and hopped back on, driving off the first chance he got. A moment later, a red rider drifted around the corner and took off in hot pursuit of him and closing in fast.

They both weaved dangerously in and out of traffic and didn't let up on the gas as the red rider began to gradually catch up, turn after turn. The rider up in front took a sharp turn down a different road with the red horseman closing the distance between them. He was almost caught when a car suddenly pulled out in front of them and caused him to slam right into the passenger's side. His body flipped before crashing into the ground, laying still.

The red rider slowed to a halt and looked to the car that abruptly stopped. He lifted his arms up in a rude and annoyed manner before hopping off his bike. He kneeled down in front of the dead or unconscious rider and searched through his pockets to try and find something. Unzipping his coat and feeling inside the lining before he touched something hard and pulled it out.

A solid black card that had an emblem on the back of it.

The rider got up and waved it to the car before walking over to the busted passenger's side door and jumped in.

"Aurelio was right," a smooth female voice said, reaching up to her helmet and pulling it off. Chocolate brown hair fell into her face and her shimmering brown and gold eyes reflected the glittering purple lights outside. Mandy Rose grimaced with the name that was moments away from falling from her bruised and cut lips. "Abraham Tarasov has it."

John Wick kept his steely gaze very calm, terrifyingly calm actually, but he made sure his voice was gentle though when he spoke to Mandy. Closing his eyes and taking a breath, she kept her keen gaze upon him. "Ok. Do you want to help me out? For one last time?" It was a question that only needed a yes and no answer, and whichever one she chooses, he would respect. Clenching the steering wheel tightly though...he prayed that she would agree.

Mandy leaned her head back against the headrest and just stared at him, smiling warmly. She reached her hand out that had an array of purple bruises and red cuts across her knuckles, gently stroking the side of his equally scarred face. It became a habit for him to just lean into her warm gesture. "Come on, John. Let's get your car...and go the fuck home already." Her smile stretched to a wide grin that showed off her teeth. "I'm really, really, really tired right now."

He shuddered out a breath and held her hand tightly. Biting down on his lips, he nodded his head. "Ok." John put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road before any more witnesses could see them.

The brightness of Mandy's phone illuminated her face, badly colored with black and purple bruises and cuts upon her cheeks and lips. "All right. You're going to follow this road for a while, but when we get there let's take the back entrance into the building. Abraham's probably on to us and is trying to wrap up shop as quickly as he can before we get there." She turned her phone off and her face was lost in the darkness. "Hopefully we won't have much trouble."

The iridescent purple light showered over the car as they drove down the street, flashing Mandy and John's face every other second. "You say that but things never go as planned," he said.

"Yeah, knowing us. Can't be lucky all the time." Mandy frowned and adjusted in her seat, feeling a sharp pressure against her back. Her side burned and she immediately knew it was the bullet wound she sustained a couple of days ago. She swallowed her pain and had nothing else to do but suck it up. It was agitating but she hid it well to not worry John, knowing he would.

She shuddered away in silence and took a glance over to him, his expression only slightly readable. Tired, worried, and tense with only a tinge of anger. Those were the only things she ever saw in his eyes, though loneliness wasn't as prominent as it usually was this time around. He looked more anxious than anything though...and she could imagine why.

_"John...You're my best friend above everything...but I love you far too much to see you like that anymore."_

Mandy swallowed hard and felt her heart swell with anxiety as well. She chewed the inside of her cheek and took a breath to try and calm herself down, closing her eyes and counting to 10 before opening them. "John, when this is done...and when we can finally put this whole thing behind us-"

"We have to talk. I know." John finished for her.

It was a sensitive topic that they both desperately wanted to talk about but were too worried to even speak a single word, much less know what to even say. Thinking about it made the tension bubble up even more, but not a single hour had rolled by that they both weren't racking their brains with questions that _should_ be asked first.

_'Did we make a mistake?'_

_'Was our friendship ruined?'_

_'Where do we go from here?'_

Mandy and John, without speaking a single word to each other, decided not to talk about it until things truly did settle down.

They ended up driving in utter silence.

* * *

Wick and Rose slinked around in the darkness of the import station after getting inside with the metal card, bypassing all the employees that were in a rush to pack up all their goods. Mostly everyone didn't even bother to take a single glance in their general direction, so John and Mandy managed to slip by undetected.

They searched around for a couple of minutes and happen to walk by some of the cars they had in their inventory. They were all covered by silk blankets to keep the dust off, so Mandy at to flip up every single one of them to see if she could spot the Ford Mustang.

John took guard over their surroundings and made sure no one was watching them while she searched.

Mandy finally came upon the last car that was in the row and flipped up the cover, seeing a shimmering metallic paint job underneath. Keeping her mouth shut, she snapped her fingers repeatedly and got John's attention. She pulled the silk cover off and revealed the Mustang in all its shining glory that was still in one piece. Thankfully.

The two were careful while getting inside the car and made as little noise as possible, but as soon as the doors closed behind them, a rush of relief filtered through their bodies. They still didn't utter a single word to each other but the sheer satisfaction on their faces said it all. From Mandy's glowing smile and John's focused eyes, they recognized how close they were to things finally coming to a conclusion. They got what they came for and now they can, at long last, put everything behind them.

The comfort didn't last for long though since they still had to leave. They couldn't stay and bask in the glory any longer cause as soon as they start up the car, they will be found out.

John pulled down the sun visor above him and the keys fell into his lap. He grabbed them quickly and stuck them into the ignition and turned it on. The car growled and they felt the whole thing vibrate under their seats. John locked the car in reverse and pulled out, holding his foot down heavily on the gas.

A guy noticed what was going on and shouted for them to stop, of course though, they didn't. He instantly got struck by the back of the car and rolled over the top, cracking the windshield and probably putting a dent on the hood and roof as well.

Swinging the car back around, John slammed it in drive and turned the wheel and peeled out.

Mandy looked over to the back windshield and saw Abraham's men rush to get into cabs to chase after them. "Ah shit," she grumbled and reached to the back of her belt to make sure her pistol was still there and everything was all right with it.

The engine was red hot and the tires burned while drifting to the side. John darted his head around to find an exit and spotted something not far. A gloomy blue sky beyond a large garage door. He pushed down on the gas and headed straight for the outside. The car hit a ramp on its way out and the whole thing went airborne as everything down to Mandy and motor screamed. It landed hard against the ground and screeched, drifting to the side and racing off with yellow taxi cars right behind them.

Out of nowhere, a taxi flew in from the side and abruptly slammed into them. It was then a constant stream of cars ramming them one after another and leaving the Mustang to spin out of control. John and Mandy were flung everywhere inside and slammed into one another too. The windows shattered and small pieces of glass were thrown into their eyes when finally...everything came to a standstill.

John lifted his head up from the steering wheel very slowly and glanced over at Mandy to make sure she was all right. Blood was dripping down the side of her head and the glass had actually managed to give her a couple of new cuts on the right side of her face. Aside from that, she looked fine, if not a little annoyed now.

John put the car in reverse and backed up right into one of the stalled taxi cars before spinning the wheel and driving off.

Mandy's whole body was sailing left to right and her head was swimming in the sound of the engine and burning gas. She was holding onto the door for dear life and felt her stomach heave and settle, plummet and shrieked with every hard turn John had to make. Mandy glanced over to him and picked up on the sound of a motorcycle coming up behind them. She lifted her head and looked back, seeing a single guy driving up to them. "Door," she called to him.

John unlocked his door and pushed it wide open before slamming on his breaks. The rider crashed right into it and snapped it completely off.

"Weren't we supposed to save the car? not break it!" Mandy shouted.

"It was your idea." John shot right back and spun the whole car back around and drove through the narrow doors of the garage to try and find another way out.

Up ahead was a gate that was slowly closing. John didn't care though and was about to ram it open when a car came out of nowhere and knocked right into the side of the Mustang. John didn't have a door anymore so he flung right out onto the cold and wet ground.

That about knocked all the air from his bruised body. Drenched and exhausted, John pushed himself off the ground and looked over to his car, now in shambles. "Mandy?" he called out. "Mandy!"

Mandy was still inside, however, her face was twisted into at least six degrees of pain. Her back and bullet wound was on fire and she couldn't even try to hide the pain anymore. She hunched forward and leaned her head on the dash, breathing in these quivering breaths of air and whimpering a little too.

"Get out now!" John continued to hound her.

She unlocked the door and kicked it open with her leg and started to climb out, but very slowly. "I know! Stop yelling at me already!" she grunted and pulled her legs to the side

"Mandy!"

Finally becoming alert to what he was shouting about, she looked up and saw the bright headlights of a taxi speeding up to ram her and the car. Mandy gasped sharply and threw herself out just as it struck the Mustang, missing her about an inch.

Men rushed at John from the side and at least three more ran out from the taxi towards Mandy.

* * *

Abraham stood absolutely frozen in his chair with his eyes wide open. He listened to the belting screams of his men, either fighting against John and Mandy or simply being killed with little to no effort at all. He wanted to grab another stogie to lose himself further into oblivion but he was so afraid to even move and just sat there, minutes rolling by and nothing ends. The screams were still prominent as ever and the hot blood in his body just flushed completely away.

There were these sudden loud gunshots though and everything became quiet, including his own heart that had finally shriveled up and died.

Seconds later he felt frost began to slip through the crack of the door as footsteps approached his office. The double doors slid open and John walked in with Mandy standing silently in the doorway, gun in hand. They both were soaking wet and covered in more cuts and bruises than when they first arrived. Still, they both somehow managed to come out on top, despite the odds against them.

John limped over to Abraham's desk and stared at the petrified man who refused to meet his eyes. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and unscrewed the lid, pouring himself two glasses. One for him and one for Abraham. John forced his gaze upon him with the will and coldness of his tired eyes, speaking while holding up his glass. "_Peace_," he says, voice withered and exhausted.

Abraham's lips curled. "_Can people like you know peace?_"

John looked back at Mandy and saw her confused stare. For once he was glad she didn't speak nor understood Russian.

He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked back. "_Why not?_"

Abraham gave a short laugh and picked up the glass. "_Peace_."

Their glasses clicked against each other and the sound rang in their ears. They both downed the alcohol in a second before John put down his glass and turned around to leave.

Abraham called back to them. "_I hope you and Ms. Rose enjoy your retirement, Mr. Wick._" It didn't sound like a threat, but a warning actually.

John didn't say anything more to him and patted Mandy on the shoulder. "Come on," he said and guided her out of the room.

"Hold up," she suddenly called out and walked back into Abraham's office. She looked the man dead in the eyes, picked up the whole bottle of alcohol for herself and left with her long time partner.

Abraham waited for a moment until the footsteps were totally gone, only then did he light another stogie. "_Pitiful woman."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Welcome back to the second installment of Mandy Rose. I do hope you're all still interested with this story and will continue to read it. Please let me know because it really, really, really helps me out and motivates me. **

**Anyway. I hope Mandy will pull herself together since she was kinda falling apart emotionally back at the end of Autophobia. And I hope to really focus on Mandy and John's growing relationship during this story too. Let's hope for the sake of Mandy's sanity that she'll be too pissed off to even care about becoming depressed. **


	3. Veins Of Silver Lightning

**VEINS OF SILVER LIGHTNING **

_17 years ago_

_Marcus watched steadily as millions of raindrops fell against the metal awning and trickled off the front, adding to the overflow of water on the streets that resembled a streaming river. His ears vibrated and he picked his head up to the sound of thunder, his eyes meeting with the gleaming strikes of silver that danced in the clouds, still far away but will soon be upon them in an hour. He could see the urgency in the faces around him as people began to make the trackback to their homes to escape the storm, but not him, of course. Funny, he was still out here with all this going on and it gave him the impression that the lightning and thunder were a bad omen._

_He pulled his collar up against the bitter cold when something dawned on him, the approaching sound of heavy footsteps sloshing their way through the river-like streets. He turned his head and saw a John Wick casually strolling over to him, a black umbrella over his head but with uneasiness settling in his eyes. Surely, he wasn't the only one getting an odd feeling thanks to the constant stream of rainfall and gray clouds that were blanketing the skies. _

_"Evening, John," Marcus gave a weary smirk. "Shitty day, ain't it." He stepped aside and let John take cover under the awning._

_Its been raining even before the sun came up, and all radio stations and TV channels said the same thing: that it was going to continue to rain until the next day. There was already a good amount of water on the streets, so neither Marcus nor John would be surprised if Manhattan was underwater by this time tomorrow._

_John shook out his umbrella and closed it. "I guess," he said in a rough and unsure voice. _

_"Thanks for coming out here," Marcus said earnestly. "Tell you the truth...I was a bit surprised to hear that you were looking for a partner."_

_"I'm sure you were." He joined in on the people-watching as groups ran by them, some even taking cover under their shelter too. "You said you knew someone who was willing to make a contract?"_

_"Yeah, but it's a bit of a shot in the dark if you ask me." He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets to try and warm them up, the frigid air getting worse by the second. He was even beginning to see his own breath._

_That made John doubletake. __He blinked a couple of times and looked puzzled.__ "Why do you say that?"_

_Marcus grimaced a little with uncertainty. "My girl was born and raised in the Bronx. Being rough in all the places she shouldn't be rough in. I just don't think she's the easiest person to get along with."_

_That didn't help John at all and now he wasn't so sure about this anymore, a__ deep sensation of nervousness creeping up his throat like a white-hot iron.__ "Marcus. If you're going to say it like that..."_

_"Don't get me wrong." He waved off his concern before John could really say anything against the idea. "Believe me when I say she's not a bad person. She's kinda a dumbass, yeah, but that's only because of how she was raised. Just a little rough around the edges. That's all."_

_From his description of her, John couldn't imagine who this woman was. She could be a brute of a lady almost as tall as him. A small and thin creature who could strip you of all your belongings in seconds, or even an enchanting beauty that could trick you into signing your soul over to the devil. The thoughts were endless and they all morphed together. Needless to say, his imagination went wild and the image he held within his mind wasn't the prettiest of things at the moment._

_"I didn't know you had a daughter." John swallowed hard, a look of shock climbing to his face when he realized what Marcus said. _

_"She's not my daughter." Marcus corrected. "All I did was take her in since she didn't have anyone else. She made herself an orphan at only 15 years old. Afterwords I found her and took her in."_

_"How did she make herself an orphan? She didn't..."_

_"No. She didn't kill them if that's what you were going to say. She just walked out of her house one day and never went back. That's all." He shrugged, still very unclear on the details. "Turns out she had a knack for the sorta world that we both live in. The only drawback is that she's too reckless for her own good, and can't get over her old mentality of trying to survive on her own."_

_John still wasn't sure about this but he did feel a bit better now that he knew a little about her. He did notice that Marcus was vague when talking about her history, but he'll believe that it wasn't important enough for him to talk about it. Everyone has at least one skeleton in their closet, a secret to hide, or even something that they just didn't feel comfortable enough talking about. Either way, it wasn't pressing against his mind. He'll decide to ask the woman herself if he was willing to make a contract with her._

_John paused for a moment as the image of her shifted once more. "What was her name again?" he asked, now seeing a woman with hardened blue eyes with ink-black hair in his head. It still wasn't the nicest look but it was a lot less frightening than the others._

_"Mandy Katharine Rose." Marcus gestured his head across the street where a gym was. "She's got a lot to do in her free time so you can usually find her in the gym. Taking requests after requests from people that want to be trained by her. Though I think she likes this better than her own job." he said, something lingering in his deepening voice that John immediately picked up on._

_John opened his umbrella and held it over them while they crossed the wet streets over to the gym. They pushed open the door and strolled inside, away from the wrathful embrace of the swelling storm. The inside was quite warm, very warm, actually, with the sound of lovely opera music coming from the speakers and echoing off the walls. In the center of the room was a large square ring that had two girls inside, fighting and wrestling with each other._

_Punches were thrown and headlocks were made but it strangely looked real and complicated, like they were having an actually genuine fight. They were practicing advanced grappling holds and were even using their own body weight against each other. It was obvious that one of the two girls was physically stronger, but the other had more experience and was swifter. They moved around each other like they were dancing with the voice of an opera singer humming in the background, producing an illusion of complex beauty between the two women._

_One of the girls had light blonde hair that looked almost stark white. She had a smaller stature than her partner but was clearly the strongest. The other woman though had dark brown hair that had a burning golden hue. She was taller and had a leaner frame that was honed from years of experience. Success and mistakes alike with the decent amount of scarring she had upon her exposed skin._

_John flicked his gaze between the two but still couldn't tell who was who. "Which one is her?"_

_"Hold on," Marcus said and stepped close to the ring. He took in a breath and called out to her. "Mandy!"_

_His booming voice only made one woman flinch, the one with blazing brown hair. She stopped what she was doing and looked over her shoulder for a split-second, lips cracked and cheeks bruised. Mandy immediately snapped her head back to her fight but not fast enough before her partner hauled off and punched her square in the nose and made her double her head back._

_"Ow!" A stream of colorful words fell from her mouth. Blood dripped from her nose and flowed through her fingers when she tried to cover it. "Fuck!"_

_Her partner's mouth fell open, disappointment all over her face that wasn't the least bit concern for her friend's bleeding nose. "Why did you look away, you idiot?"_

_"The fuck did you have to punch me when you knew I would?!" Mandy barked. "That's unfair!"_

_"You said this was a real freaking fight!" The woman's emerald eyes were widened with disbelief. She even thought that she might've hit Mandy a bit too hard and caused memory loss. "You're the one who said to ignore all distractions and focus on winning!"_

_Mandy paused as the color drained from her face, growing faint from realization. "Ah shit. That's right. I did say that."_

_"Oh my God..."_

_Mandy frowned and leaned her head back to ease the flow of blood. "Yeah, yeah." She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down at her free hand. It was covered in bright streaks of blood that was starting to darken and clot together. She felt her stomach cringe. "We'll call it for today, Dahlia," she said with a bit more firmness in her voice._

_Dahlia sharply nodded her head and grabbed a towel that was leaning on the corner post. "Yeah. I think so too," she said and tossed it over to her._

_"Mandy. Get down here for a moment." Marcus called back to her. "There's someone I want you to meet."_

_"I heard you the first time!" Mandy held the towel up to her nose and jumped out of the ring. "Hey, Marcus. Good to see you again." She winked at him and walked over to a sink that was to their left. She ran her hands under the cold water and soaked the towel to clean the blood off her nose too._

_"Good to see you're doing ok." Marcus laughed._

_Mandy rolled her eyes and spoke in a mocking sort of tone. "Yeah, being cold-cocked in the face really does open the mind, you know?" Sarcasm was rooted deep in her voice like it was natural for her. Her eyes finally landed on John though who as waiting patiently the whole time. "Who's he?"_

_John walked up to her when she addressed him. "Hi. Mandy, right? John Wick," he introduced and shook her hand. He was a bit astonished to feel that they were just as rough as his and quite strong too. _

_Mandy blinked and stared at him, lips curling up and her dimples becoming visible within the warming smile. "John Wick, huh. I actually know your name pretty well. Good to meet you." _

_Her smile was wonderful to look at, but what he really found charming about her were her eyes. Flecks of golden and shimmers of burning ambers, all swirling and mixing together under the soft glow of the gym lights. They were utterly enchanting to look at and John couldn't pull his own deep gaze away from them, drawn in by their glorious appeal. _

_"We were hoping you would be interested in making a contract with him," Marcus stated. _

_Mandy looked puzzled. "A partnership?" Her eyes flickered back to John and she pulled her hand away. "You serious?"_

_John shook his head. "Yeah, I'm thinking about it. Do you wanna talk about it outside?" It was hot inside the gym so he figured going out in the cold afternoon would be alright with her._

_Mandy cocked her head to the side and her demeanor changed very slightly. She studied him with her eyes to see if she could spot any hidden agenda within his composed face. John seemed pretty earnest about it though so she complied with his request. "Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute, okay?"_

_Mandy backed up a couple of steps before heading to the locker rooms located in the back of the gym, passing Dahlia on her way._

_Mandy stopped. "You on your way out?" she asked, noticing that she was already dressed and ready to face the rain. _

_Dahlia shook her head and pulled her dirty hair up into a bun. She didn't take a shower and was planning on doing it when she got back home. "Yeah. You wanna cancel tomorrow's plans since you got this to deal with?" she asked. _

_Mandy thought it over for a bit before shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah. It'll probably be for the best." she figured, knowing how big a deal this was at the moment. "I'll call you later." She grabbed Dahlia's hand and smiled._

_"Yeah. Later, M." She winked and was about to make for the door until Marcus stopped her by calling her name._

_"Dahlia, hold on," he said. _

_ She turned her head to him and cocked a brow suspiciously. __"Yeah?"_

_"I'm leaving too in a few seconds, so I'll walk you out," Marcus turned back to John. "I'll talk to you in the morning if Manhattan hasn't flooded until then."_

_John smiled lightly and patted Marcus on the shoulder. "Thanks for the help. I appreciate it."_

_"__You won't be when you get to know her, but then again...what do I know. Good luck," he said ominously and turned to the door.  
_

_Dahlia glanced at John for a second before following Marcus out into the cool and damp outside, a storm brewing in the distance with the sound of thunder worsening. John watched as the swinging door closed behind them, bringing in the smell of rain and cold air upon his face. _

_He waited at the door for a couple more minutes, not too long, but Mandy did eventually come back. She wore a long gray coat with a bright red lining, dark washed jeans that clung to her legs and thick black boots. Her hair was free from its hold and swayed around her flushed cheeks and pale neck, the ends curling up and sticking to her face that still was slightly bruised from her sparring fight with Dahlia. __John opened the door and let Mandy out first, the cold wind blowing her hair back and releasing the scent that was coming from both her and the outside. He first underwent a deep aroma of rain, a misty and musk kind of scent, then immediately following a lovely fragrance of a perfume that smelled of roses and lavender._

_They were only inside for a couple of minutes but it seemed that the rain worsened since then. The drops were now big and fat, descending from the heavens and hitting the streets that looked more like a river than ever before. A river that people were still driving through like it wasn't even there. It made the water below their tires splash up and strike Mandy across the face. _

_"Learn to fucking drive in the rain, you dick-twitch!" __She then promptly flipped them off as they drove by, leaving her splattered in rainwater and coldness. "Son of a..."_

_John took her by her shoulder and guided her back under the awning of the gym for a couple of seconds, waiting to see if the streets and crowd will clear up anytime soon. _

_Mandy took in a deep breath and exhaled it out into the air, staring at her breath as it faded away. She peeked up at John from under her lashes and saw him doing the same with her. She arched a brow. "__Let me guess. Marcus gave you a warning about me." she groaned when she figured out that he was analyzing her. A lot like how she was doing to him back in the gym. _

_"Something along those lines, yeah," he frowned and nodded his head. _

_Mandy scoffed. "Of course, he did. Marcus always said that I was a funky combo of being both smart yet stupid at the same time, being too gung-ho about everything. Which is actually kinda true, unfortunately." She rolled her eyes to the back of her head but then saw John smiling a bit from the corner of her eye. It warmed her heart to know that despite the warnings, he was still willing to properly talk to her and decide for himself. And that really meant a lot to her. _

_"He said you were an orphan, too." John brought up._

_"Yeah." __She crossed her arms over her chest but flinched a bit when she felt the cold seep through her shirt and touch her skin. She groaned to herself and kinda felt sticky, a strong desire coming over her that's telling her to take a long hot shower. "The environment I was raised in wasn't the best, though my living situation after I left still wasn't fantastic either. I was just kinda screwed all the way around, you know."_

_"Until Marcus found you?"_

_"Still screwed all the way around," Mandy muttered under her breath, eyes glaring up at the distant drops of rain that fell down the side of her face. "Anyway. Doesn't a contract come first before the personal stuff?" she reminded. _

_"Sorry. I didn't mean to dig into your business." __John frowned and stared at the cars passing by, water splashing up at their feet with faces reflecting in the windows. He felt his chest began to tighten up then release when Mandy nudged him in the side. _

_"Why does John Wick need a partner anyways? Don't tell me it's because you're lonely?" She met his deep and continuous gaze that bore into her, mischief hanging from her voice with words made of velvet. _

_John forgot to breathe for a second and just stared at her, huddled together in this close proximity because of the small awning. He could see everything on her face. From the bruises on her cheeks and the small dust of freckles across her nose. "No. That's not it," he said breathlessly. _

_Mandy couldn't spot the lie in his voice but it was easily reflecting in his eyes. "You sure about this, John?" __The playfulness dropped from her tone and her eyes hardened.__ "I mean...have you really put a great deal of thought into this decision? A Partnership Contract runs deeper than a Marker. You're practically signing your whole life over to a person as they do the same to you, and absolutely nothing can break that bond. It's a blood oath they share that combines two people into one individual person. Sharing one mind and one body."_

_"I wouldn't be here now if I wasn't already sure," he said, an odd feeling rising up in his chest that made his heart ache. _

_Mandy's bruised lips fell into a frown. "People don't make contracts if they got something to hide. Once it's made, all secrets are void between the pair. If they want to know something then you better fess up. You can't even lie because it's against the contract. So what you did right now..." she referred to his lie," you won't be able to do that anymore with me."_

_"Same with you."_

_Mandy belted out a loud laugh that came straight from her stomach. "__I'm already an open book. I got nothing to hide. But if you're really willing to fall through with this then...'If one shall fall...'_

_"'...then so shall the other.' I know how the saying goes." John began to feel his stomach drop, the rain washing away all the heat in his body. __He thought it over for a grand whole minute within nothing but insufferable silence. __The whole making of a Partnership Contract was like a double-edged sword, strong but dangerous. __If he made a mistake then so did she. If Mandy got in trouble then it will fall upon him too. _

_Mandy saw the hesitation swarm up in his eyes. "I'm not denying your request to make one with me, but I'm giving you an option to think this out," she said with all the sincerity she could muster. "__So...what do you say?"_

_They were simple words but felt extraordinarily heavy to him, and John was truly beginning to understand the degree of that commitment. He looked into Mandy's beautiful eyes that resembled a golden universe, conversing these soundless words to him that eased all his concerns and uncertainties in a fraction of a second. _

_It was a simple thought that crossed his mind, somewhat childish but...he thought to himself, 'I want to stay with these eyes.'_

* * *

Veins of silver lightning were seen in the distance and reflected in Mandy's amber eyes. The glorious and powerful strikes rippled through the thick gray clouds and moved away with every blow but leaving behind the shower. There was the soft sound of the rain tapping against the roof of the car as John rolled his beaten and battered prize up to his awaiting house. It felt like its been forever since they saw it, despite knowing that its only been a few days.

Just a few days?

Had it really only been a few days since they've reunited, and since Marcus died? Daisy? Helen?

For John, it really did feel like _just_ a few days. Blink once and it was gone. But for Mandy, it was different. She felt everything. A constant motion of slowness crossing her eyes one after another. She underwent 10 whole years worth of it, feeling every hour and second. There was no one there beside her the whole time so it felt like it took ages to even get to the next day. She figured out that drinking kinda had the opposite effect on those days, feeling like she might've lost a week in a blink of an eye. She drank so much during that time gap that she's still kinda surprised that it didn't kill her. Lucky though, she guesses.

John glanced over to Mandy and saw her focused gaze out the window, watching the far-off thunderbolts light up her face in a silver glow. She had her hand up and was just mindlessly tracing the cuts and bruises that were married to her face, all in which came from the last few days they've been working. His heart began to feel a odd strain the longer he looked at her and pulled his head away, bitting down on his lips to stop himself from saying anything.

He pulled the tattered remains of his beloved car into the garage and turned it off. He wasn't sure if he tried to turn it on again that it would actually work. He's thankful that it managed to get them home though.

"Nice try," Mandy spoke up for the first time since driving back to his place. Dry and calm, startling John a bit and actually making him feel a bit nervous.

"What?" He turned to her and saw that her eyes were still not on him, just staring straight ahead.

"I'm not stupid," she said. Mandy's eyes fell down to the glove compartment in front of her and she reached over to it, pulling out an envelope and handed it over to John. "It wasn't just about the car."

He pulled the card out that had pictures of daisies on the front of it. It was a birthday card from his departed wife with a picture of them in the inside. A moment of peace paused in the single frame of the picture. Happier times. _They_ were happy. _He..._was happy.

John immediately felt his heart swell with guilt and he quickly snapped his head back to Mandy, meeting her gaze. She was smiling at him, but not in that overly sarcastic or angry kind of way. It was genuine, compassionate, yet very sad. Her eyes were proof of those feelings, glowing in the silver light but burning with this intensity that told him differently.

Something...wasn't right with Mandy. An uneasiness held her tongue for the longest time that didn't allow her to speak her mind.

Mandy reached over to him and gently nudged the side of his face, tugging on his hair as her smile fell. "I would've done the same if it was any of Adrian's shit that they possessed. But... I'm pretty sure his family came along and took all his things and probably buried them with him." she said, taking in a deep and slow breath that was awfully relaxed because of how tired she was.

John hesitated and clenched ahold of the card like it was a lifeline. "Adrian was... he was cremated," he said and saw the look of shock surge throughout Mandy's face. She turned to him, eyes growing so wide that he could easily make out all the individual golden flecks swimming in her beautiful irises. He knew in that instant that she was unaware of what happened to Adrian's body after she left.

Pain momentarily came to her face but quickly accepted the fact that she was oblivious to what happened. Still, a distant and sad look lingered in her eyes for the longest time. "Blaze of glory, huh. That's kinda how I would like to go. Dancing one last time with the fire... It seems peaceful," she said, wistfully, a sense of longing in her voice.

There was something about her words that made his whole body tense up. A sense of fear and loss coursing through him. It made John believe that Mandy actually _wanted_ to be with Adrian. Beyond life and in death. "Mandy..." he said weakly, "please don't say that."

She leaned her head against her bruised knuckles and looked at him from the corner of her eyes but not saying a word once again. God, John hated it when she was quiet. It's when she was constantly talking and constantly cursing that he was the most comfortable around her, an indication that told him that she was alright. But whenever Mandy suddenly got quiet though...he knew that something was amiss within the depths of her mind, deeper than any ocean. Mandy was unreadable when silent.

"John," Mandy spoke up, hardly any emotion in her voice, "I've been meaning to ask you. You...killed the Romanov family, right?"

That certainly surprised him since the Romanov family was the last thing on his mind. Still, he answered her honestly since she deserved to know. "Yeah..."

Her face was flat to his response, but there was something in her eyes. A spark of doubt. "All of them?"

John arched a brow. "Yeah."

Mandy brought her hand up to her cheek and traced her fingers along the scars on her face and muttered, "Hm...all right."

* * *

They carried each other into the house and felt a cold blast of air upon their faces, silence echoing out from the empty halls. Nothing was out of place from the last time they've been there and there were no signs of living at all either. Mandy quickly found the stillness of the house and light tapping of the rain to be quite irritating.

There was a sharp echoing of paws hitting the ground and a pitbull came rushing out from behind the corner. He couldn't contain his excitement and wiggled his whole body in front of the two battered owners. Mandy dropped herself to her knees and allowed him to jump all over her and cover her face with loving licks. She couldn't hold it anymore and finally laughed while the big muscly creature dominated her, almost shoving her down he was so excited.

Her laugh had the brightness of a thousand suns but also the volume of a child, loud and full of life not yet exhausted by the world. He loved her laugh because it had the ability to make anyone around her smile, including him. It dawned on him though because he couldn't remember the last time he heard it.

"You've thought of a name yet?" Mandy asked, resting her face against its blocky head, still smiling slightly.

John shook his head. "No."

"You're the one who saw it first, so you should be the one to name it," she told him. "What's the first name that pops into your head when you look at it?"

"Mandy."

"Yeah?"

"No, uh...that's the first thing that comes up when, uh...I look at it," John answered. It's true that the dog heavily reminded him of Mandy back in the pound, but saying it now made him feel kinda silly.

Mandy blinked a couple of times since the name didn't prosses through her head quick enough. She bent her head down and looked beneath the dog before frowning, lifting her head back up and just staring at him with dull eyes. "John...the dog's a boy." Her voice was so utterly flat that it was astonishing. "Do I look like a dog to you?"

Silly became stupid in a fraction of a second and he immediately regretted suggesting her name. "No. Of course not."

The haunting look in her eyes told him that Mandy wasn't going to let that go any time soon.

Afterward, John fed the dog a bowl of cereal and help Mandy upstairs to his room that was no different from downstairs. It was large, empty, soundless, and lacked the loving and living soul of his wife. Her things still scattered around the room, untouched and unused.

He tried his best to ease his partner down on the chair and tried not to agitate any of her bruises and cuts that were as bad as his. The moment Mandy sat down though, all the strength vanished from her muscles and she fell limp against the back, her head looking straight up at the ceiling with a dreamy expression in her eyes. Tiredness not only hit her, it struck her like a freight train. Every joint, every bone, everything inch of her was bruised from her head down to her feet.

"Oh...fuck..." Mandy's eyes grew wide, grinding down on her teeth as her body tensed up. "I'm good, I'm good," she said in a small and short voice.

John glanced down at the card in his hand and back up to Mandy. "You wanna take a shower first?" he asked and felt the weight of awkwardness creeping upon him. Surely Mandy felt it too with the way she was looking at him, uneasy but compliant.

"Ah, yeah...sure," she said in a single breath.

It took a couple of seconds to gather just enough strength to sit up and head to the bathroom, shaking her sweat time limping with her wobbly legs. The longer John looked at her the more worried he was about her potentially falling. His body was tense and ready to catch her if she did. Luckily though she made it to the door no problem.

"Spare clothes too?" he asked.

Mandy looked over her shoulder and cocked an eyebrow, mischief returning to her eyes in record-breaking time for her next words to fall from her mouth. "What, you think I'm gonna sleep in these?" An instant snapback of pure mandy-ness.

"No... I didn't think you would." he offered the smallest smile in which she returned, just as little as his though.

"I'll be out in 10 minutes."

"Take all the time you need. I know you like long showers."

"That I do..." Mandy blinked and smirked. "Is that a dare?"

John thought his words over for a bit before realizing that she would actually take over an hour-long shower. "Actually...10 minutes is fine. I still need the hot water."

"Ah, don't be such a baby. You can survive a cold shower."

John was somewhat thrilled that Mandy was slowly shifting back to her usual self, but in the end, he accidentally let a couple of words slipped that totally changed her demeanor. "I got some of Helen's clothes still...if you'll be alright with that." He instantly regretted those words.

Mandy blinked once and froze right where she stood, just staring at him bewildered and somewhat reluctant. She felt hot but not in a good way, stomach-turning warmth that made her break out into a cold sweat.

"Or maybe you can borrow mine-" John was cut off by Mandy's rough and dry voice.

"Whatever is fine. I'll be out soon." She didn't dare stick around to see his contorting face and dipped fast into the bathroom, shutting the door with a hard slam.

Everything was dark inside aside from the clouded blue light that was trickling through the windows, shining upon her face and across her eyes, flashing like millions of glass fragments. Her focus turned to the shutters and towards the distant storm sweeping upon the hills. The sound of rain blew the silence away and filled the empty room with peaceful echoes that couldn't warm her body and ease her tense and chaotic mind.

She didn't like peace. She wasn't ready for peace. Because if there is peace...then it would be time for her and John to talk about what will happen to them for now on. Mandy was afraid of the unknown, the uncertainty of the future. It was painful to think it but she would rather be trapped in a never-ending cycle of her previous life if it meant being with him once again. She loved it with every fiber of her being. His company, his voice, and his rough hands that were trying so desperately to learn to be gentle. Everything about him made her heart either flutter or ache. A feeling that she had grown so used to that not even 10 years could make her forget the sensation.

Mandy wasn't ready to face the rain, her reality that was one step away from total change.

The sound of the door gently knocking behind her startled her a bit and made her body tense up again.

"Yeah?" Mandy called.

"I got you some clothes," John answered back.

Mandy sucked in a deep breath and cracked the door open just a few inches, making sure her body was out of sight. She stuck her hands out and felt the fabric of new and warm clothes slid through her fingers. She grasped them tightly and yanked her hand back into the door, slamming it shut with the audible sound of it being locked, the force startled John a bit and he stepped back and sat down on his bed, pondering on what just happened.

Mandy was estranged with him and nothing felt right anymore, is what he tried to not think about. The silence grew though and couldn't help the wandering of his mind of where things went wrong. He always said that Mandy was his best friend but that didn't even come close to what he felt about her. He adored her, and he would've said yes a long time ago. A hundred times. A thousand times. A million times. He would've said all she ever wanted to hear if it meant she would stay beside him.

John was a bit surprised when he heard the sound of the shower finally turning off, less than 10 minutes. The door creaked open and Mandy stepped out, dressed in a large black shirt with very baggy pants that were both clearly too large on her. It's not like she was a small and petite woman but it was obvious they were John's clothes.

The uneasy look on Mandy's face hasn't changed at all in the 5 minutes she's been in the shower. Instead, it looked like it's gotten worse. She was quiet and avoiding eye contact with him, actually looking at Helen's side of the bed.

"John..." Mandy took a breath and squirmed around where she stood, "I can sleep downstairs."

"No. It's fine, really." John stood up from the bed and spoke very gently to her to not make her feel so unwelcome. He could see the vulnerability in her hazy amber gaze that refused to look him in the eye.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He placed a hand on her shoulder but she backed away from his touch, gliding past him silently and setting her clothes on the bed. "Man-"

"You can have the shower now. I'm probably going to head on to bed the time you get out." Her voice was gentle, way too gentle for someone like her. Defeat crossed her eyes when she looked back at John, who just stood there somewhat stunned by her subtle rejection. She spoke once more but it was like her words held a different meaning, deeper and more complex. "I'm going...to bed."

John blinked a couple of times before his eyes widen. He saw Mandy totally shut down. He could see it now when he looked her in the eyes, a chaotic storm of mixed and doubtful emotions entirely wrecking her resolve to put everything behind her, making her completely shut down mentally. Scared. Mandy was just too scared.

He wanted to say something. Anything. Hug her when she's scared. Tell her that everything was going to be alright but no words fell from his mouth. Like Mandy, he felt his own mind shut down completely, leaving him totally wordless and dejected.

John didn't wait around any longer and headed into the bathroom. He didn't slam the door but just the soft clicking sound of it shutting made Maney shudder, breathing in deeply with her eyes starting to become glassy. She collapsed down on the bed and hunched over, holding her face in her hands. She took in these struggled gasps of air and was trying not to cry, despite feeling like the world was closing in on her.

"What's wrong with me..."

* * *

The house fell silent once more when John and Mandy went to bed, both in which trying to deceive each other into thinking they were drifting off to the sound of falling rain. Neither of them could fall asleep though. Everything around them was too loud. Hearts thumping loudly, the sound of unsteady breathing, the house settling, and the dog sleeping peacefully at the edge of the bed. They were beyond tired but their minds were the only thing that was restless.

John couldn't stand the uneasy silence anymore and sat up in bed, staring into the shadows of his room and not seeing anything. He looked to his right to where Mandy was but really can't see her either, just a faint outline of her body under the covers, facing away from him. He knew she wasn't really asleep since her breathing habits were all wrong. She was just pretending.

His eyes fell to his left and found his phone on the bedside table and turned it on. He pulled a video up on his phone and lowered the volume all the way down. He watched in melancholy silence as his wife smiled at the screen. It was like a ghostly reflection staring back at him though, happier times, long after Mandy disappeared from the world. Now though, he never knew that having a small fraction of peace during those 5 years would make him feel so guilty. Mandy wasn't happy. His best friend was practically living in her own personal hell for over a decade alone. No one around her. No one there for her. It was...just her.

John paused the video for a second when he heard Mandy move a bit. He looked back to his phone though and saw that he paused on a frozen frame of his wife smiling warmly at him. His heart ached and pulled in two different directions. Still, he went back to the memories of a few nights ago.

* * *

_"John...You're my best friend above everything...but I love you far too much to see you like that anymore. If the world didn't have such a fucked up way with screwing with me... then I would've sucked it up and asked you out a long time ago." She took a gasp at long last and felt the last bit of her courage fall away from her body, leaving her feeling cold with uneasiness._

_That was it...she can't undo what's been said and done...and she wasn't prepared for the end._

_Silence rolled and nothing was said, making Mandy feel her hope dwindle. "Please say something." The moment back at the bridge had to have counted for something unless it was a fluke. She prayed it wasn't._

_John's intense breathing slowed down the longer he stared at her pleating eyes, made from shimmering golden flakes of pure sunlight. Her voice was a joy to his ears, smooth yet curious and mysterious enough to make him crave to hear her talk more. He took a breath and moved his hand from her shoulder, up to her neck, and against the side of her face that was badly bruised. There was something different in his eyes now. Apologetic and loving. "Mandy. Does it really matter that it was a decade ago? I would've said yes...as many times as you needed to hear."_

* * *

John stared down at the delete button beside the video and back at the single frame of Helen, frozen in time but lost. He contemplated his decision for a second, seconds that turned into minutes before a resolve as hard as stone went to his eyes. He gave a gentle sigh and stared at her one last time before deleting the video for good. He knew Helen was gone and there was nothing left he could do, but Mandy though...she was still here.

John turned his phone off and the room was enclosed in a silent void. "Mandy, I know you're awake," he said and waited to see if she was going to respond, give up the act and actually have a proper conversation with him. Sure enough, he heard her began to move around like she was sitting up.

"Yeah...I know you do," she said in a single breath.

There was something oddly calm about the darkness since they couldn't see each other's faces. There was only the subtle sound of their soft breathing and small voices echoing and bouncing off the walls.

"You alright?" he asked and waited. Mandy was quiet for what seemed like forever and the darkness deceived him into thinking that she wasn't actually there. He knew that she was though. He could feel the shift in the bed and her uneasy breathing, shallow and gentle.

"No. Not really." An air of defeat was heavily present in her voice that was weak and tired.

John paused to carefully think about his words because he knew how vulnerable she was at the moment. He didn't even have to see her face to know what she was feeling. Her voice gave it away. The dread was ice cold, an incoming storm of anxiety and 10 years' worth of depression all bursting out in a single moment.

He took his hand and glided it across the bedsheets to try and find Mandy within the darkness, fishing around in the thick shade until he was greeted with her small and rough hand. They curled around his fingers, shaking slightly like a scared child but with the strength of a desperate animal in search of a little kindness. John could feel her heartbeat through her thin skin, pattering like a hummingbird, and if pushed anymore would break. Which is why he held on just as tightly as she was. He wanted to make her feel safe and let her know that everything was going to be alright.

He still couldn't see her face...but he just had a feeling that she was smiling right now. He fought the desire to turn on the lights to see for himself, but he controlled those feelings because he knew the darkened fantasy would break if he did.

John closed his eyes briefly before opening them, taking only a couple seconds to collect his words. "Mandy...I love Helen and I'll miss her every day. Just how I know you're going to miss Adrian. But...It was always you, and it's always going to be you for now on." His words were struggled and heartfelt like it was painful for him to even speak. He meant every word though. Every sentence that came from the bottom of his heart.

Lightning struck and flickers of light came into the room that cast large shadows across Mandy's shocked face. There were shimmers of gold across her glassy eyes that acted like millions of stars from a cosmos, dancing in an array of brilliant colors that were absolutely stunning. The world's natural sounds eased the heaviness in Mandy's heart and calmed the demons inside her mind that made all the self-doubt in the first place, and for once, the isolating darkness didn't feel so tight and lonely anymore for her.

"We're going to be fine, okay? We'll make it work." All the tension rushed away, a soothing calmness now in its place. "I promise." The darkness returned but he felt like he didn't need it anymore. Something in the back of his mind told him that they were going to be fine, that there was nothing to worry about, and he truly believed it.

Hot tears finally began to fall from Mandy's watery eyes before an intense and passionate heat consumed her lips. She couldn't see much but her eyes close and her body just melted in his arms that wrapped around her. All she could feel was him. Only him and nothing else. An intoxicating desire crept up in her throat as he deepened the kiss until the world around them vanished. It felt different from the first time but still very gentle and heartfelt. She could tell that he was cherishing every passing second they had together.

They did nothing within the silent darkness of the empty room, traces of silver lightning flowing in from the windows. They just laid there, hands intertwined together as the storm outside passed by, along with the one within her, and for once in a very, very long time...Mandy felt like everything was going to be alright.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Holy hell this was a long-ass chapter! I wasn't expecting this and I was literally dying trying to finish it before the week was up. I don't know what it was about this chapter but I felt like it was transferring me to a different freaking universe. I literally forgot that I was writing a John Wick fic!**

**Well...the world is on fire and we're all locked in our homes, but I hope you're all doing okay out there, wherever you are. Remember to wash your hands! This extra-long chapter is for all my readers who are hiding out inside their homes!**

**I really love that flashback scene and I wonder who the first one to fall in love was, because it was freaking obvious that John was very charmed by our girl. But with this, maybe Mandy can have a moment of peace before you know who comes knocking at their door in the next chapter.**

**That's it for now. So until then, keep save, wash your hands, and I'll see you next week where I'll be tackling Alice Cromwell's 'Before the Fall'!**


	4. Flammable Roses

**FLAMMABLE ROSES**

Glass fragments of daylight bled through the curtains and burned Mandy's eyes until she was forced to open them, hissing away from the scorching sunlight to save herself. She was somewhat shocked to see that she was still in John's bedroom, actually delighted to know that everything that happened wasn't a figment of her imagination that she made up. John was still asleep beside her, breathing softly and submerged in a deep slumber. Mandy laughed a bit and set her hand gently on his head to smooth down his hair.

She wasn't worried about waking him up since he was a pretty heavy sleeper, unlike her who could wake up to the sound of a feather falling on the floor, which is why Mandy was actually astonished to know that she managed to sleep through the whole night. Usually, she would either have her paranoia keeping her up, insomnia, or simply just the sound of the building shifting and settling throughout the night.

She angled herself to the side and slid off the bed as gently as she could to make extra sure not to wake John up, wanting him to sleep for as long as he could because she knew he deserved it. Mandy gave him one last soothing pat on the head before tiptoeing out of the room and downstairs. The house was quiet but not unpleasant and the floor hardly made a noise when she descended down to the first level. She thought she hated the silence because it constantly felt unwelcoming to her. It always felt unnaturally cold and blue, but not this kind though. This type of silence was peaceful and warm, glowing bright, and shimmering gold.

Mandy headed towards the kitchen first to ransack the fridge, now realizing that she hardly ate anything the day before. She stopped though when her ears perked up to a tapping sound behind her. She turned around and saw the nameless dog trotting down the stairs after her. It stopped in front of the woman and just stared at her. It was breathing heavily and it almost looked like it was smiling too.

"You're already awake?" she muttered meekly and kneeled in front of the wiggling and excited creature. It didn't have a long tale so it would just wiggle its entire body instead, and it made Mandy giggle. "You're hungry too, aren't you?" she said and saw the animal brighten up. It kinda was like looking in a mirror since she would have the same reaction to food herself. "Alright. Come on, Mandy Jr." She gestured under a snickering breath and headed to the kitchen with the dog trailing behind her.

This all kind of felt nostalgic and odd, like she was reliving an old memory. Last time she made food in John's house, she disappeared for 10 years. Thinking about that day still brought shivers down her spine and she still wasn't sure if she made the right call that night. It wasn't actually a spur of the moment but Mandy also didn't think she was in the right state of mind to make such a decision. Her mind had snapped and she just wanted to leave, to run away, leaving everything and everyone behind, the job, the people...she wanted to start over. She never was able to escape the haunting memories though, and she would constantly relive them every night. It was the reason she never liked sleeping.

Mandy really didn't know what she wanted and just grabbed the first thing she saw. A gallon of milk. With that, she took a box of corn flakes and a couple of bowls too. One for herself, another for John when he woke up, and the other for the dog.

The moment she placed the bowl of milk down on the ground, he immediately started to inhale it.

Mandy patted his back. "Pretty thirsty, huh?"

She went back to mindlessly munching on her cereal and dozing off to the rest of the world. She stopped mid-chew though when she heard the sound of the creaking steps. Mandy blinked a couple of times and lifted her head, seeing John slowly walking down.

He stopped at the bottom step and looked around. When he spotted her, he genuinely had a look of shock on his face, like he was seeing Mandy's ghost instead of her flesh and blood version. "For some reason...I thought I dreamt all of this up," he said while groggily walking over to her. He was slow and still kind of limping because of his wounds.

"You don't say." Mandy smiled and made him some cereal too. "That kinda was my first thought when I woke up. Still...you were laying right next to me so I knew it was real."

John pushed his hand against his temple and sat down across from her. "Yeah, well...I woke up last and didn't see you there, so..." he stopped talking when he saw Mandy gradually lifting an eyebrow. "Of course, you would be in the kitchen though," he said it like he shouldn't be shocked at all.

"I got hungry. Sue me." She scoffed and continued to stuff her face. "That reminds me. Wasn't Aurelio suppose to come over today to get the car?" she asked.

"He is. We talked about it the other day and made a schedule."

"Oh, alright. I'm telling you this right now though..." Her lips crept up into a sarcastic smirk. "You totally killed your car."

John frowned. "He can fix it."

"Yeah, ah-uh. Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it'll magically get fixed the time he comes over." She dropped her head and snickered.

John smiled weakly and stared into his cereal for a solid minute. All this really did bring him back. He could remember her breaking into his house to eat his food and sometimes wait until he woke up to have breakfast with her. It kind of was like a tradition of some sort. Mandy did it so often that he had to get out of the habit himself after she disappeared. He could even recall waking up in the middle of the night to check his downstairs to make sure she didn't suddenly come back. She never did though and he would always return to bed disheartened.

Right now though, she was here in front of him, and John was happy. Nothing was perfect yet but it was the closest it felt since Helen died. Things appeared normal again and his smile was truly genuine. He wanted to remain this way but one thing was still bugging him though, something he knew he couldn't ignore forever.

"Mandy, your gun and clothes, you don't need them anymore, right?" he asked and saw Mandy slowly lift her eyes to meet his. "Can I..."

"Get rid of them?" she said bluntly, leaning her head against the palm of her hand.

He grimaced at her cold tone. "No, just...put them away with the rest of my things."

Mandy didn't say anything and it looked like she was putting a great deal of thought into it, even hesitating too. She bit down on her lips before taking a breath. "That's fine, but...I just don't wanna see it," she said uneasily.

John's eyes softened. "That's fine." He turned to get up when Mandy abruptly reached over the table and grabbed his arm.

"Hold on." Her lips turned up into a crooked grin. "I went through the trouble of making you a freakin' bowl of cereal, so you better sit down and eat before doing anything else."

He flinched and slowly sat back down. "Oh, right. Sorry."

John believes he could understand where she was coming from with that remark. She wanted them to have this simple moment for themselves. To not worry about the job, what had happened, or anything else. Mandy just wanted a small time to where she could feel normal, and John couldn't take that away from her. It may appear mundane to anyone else, but for her...it was a first.

* * *

John headed back upstairs and left Mandy in the kitchen after he finished eating. He moved with haste with a plastic bag in hand and began to pour all of his and Mandy's previous life into it. He didn't leave a single scrap of clothing, nor a bullet casing behind and stuffed everything until nothing from that life remained. He then took everything downstairs and was careful to stay out of Mandy's line of sight when he passed by the kitchen.

The basement was just as he left it. It was full of storage but in the center of the room was a hole with a large case inside. There were weapons and coins of the past still tucked away like they were 5 years ago. John didn't care to walk down memory lane though and simply just tossed the bag inside, slamming the lid shut.

* * *

Aurelio did eventually come over during the middle of the day to check out the car and see what he could do, but he ended up almost having a stroke after seeing the state it was in. "What the hell was John thinking?" He got down low and checked out the dents that lined the hood and the bumper. He could say that he was amazed to see how bad John messed it up to get it out of Abraham's place. "I thought he loved this car."

Mandy stood beside him and shrugged her shoulders, unable to give him an answer despite being there herself. She leaned against the hood and clapped her hands together. "Well...maybe he knew he wasn't gonna get it out of that place in one piece," she suggested.

Aurelio stood up from the ground and cocked a brow. "Even with the both of you there?"

Mandy scoffed and looked up at him with a lazy grin stretching to her bruised lips. She reached around back and patted the warped metal of the hood. "So what do you think? What's the diagnosis?" she said sarcastically. Mandy wasn't a car enthusiast and she mostly preferred bikes, but even someone with half a brain cell could tell that John's car was completely done for.

"Well...the motor's about to fall out and the chassis's all bent up, the driveshaft is all destroyed. And I don't know if you noticed, but there's a crack in the windshield."

"Oh, really?" Mandy turned around and pretend like she didn't notice it among the wreckage. "Does that mean you can't fix it?"

Aurelio playfully shoved her shoulder. "Don't start with me, Rose. I can fix it, but it ain't gonna be ready until..." He blinked a couple of times to quickly draw up his calculations. "...uh, next Christmas."

"Small price to pay..." Mandy turned her head back around and sighed, staring up at the house that still seemed pretty foreign to her. Honestly, she didn't know what's gonna become of her and John. Yeah, she's nervous more than anything but also excited, in reality. There was this unknown to their situation that she kinda liked and it made her heart flutter and speed up with anticipation. "Anyway, thanks for your help." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of golden coins and handed them over.

Aurelio tossed them around in his hand for a bit and frowned. "You and John gonna be alright?" he asked, surprising Mandy. "I mean...John got out and so did you, in a way, but this...this is different, right?" There was this uncertainty in his voice that made Mandy's face harden up. "Are you both really out of the game, like, for good this time?"

There was no sly remark or sarcasm in her voice. Mandy's face had turned to icy-stone and her answer was simple yet stern. "Yes." She pulled her hands into her pockets and clenched them up into tight balls, shaking and cutting into the palm of her skin.

* * *

John used a couple of bags of cement he had laying around and used that to gradually cover the hole, one scoop at a time. He packed it on tightly until he couldn't see the case anymore and then began to smooth it out. It was a long and grinding process so he was downstairs for the majority of the day. Mandy though, would sometimes poke her head through the door and call out to him to make sure he was alright, even asking if he had buried himself. Of course, he would say no and she would disappear back upstairs, all the while laughing at her own joke.

Mandy had always been pretty easy to read and understand. She was like an open book. If she was laughing and joking, then she was alright. If she was quiet, then he would start to worry. He had always loved her laugh and the way it sounded since it was unexpectedly childish, and it would especially come off like that when she would start giggling at her own silly jokes. John would usually smile back though just because he liked hearing her talk. It was good to know that she was slowly adjusting to the silent calmness that the house was giving off.

After he finished leveling out the wet cement, he set the tool down and leaned back against the wall to stare at his work. With this, the hole had officially been covered, and the past along with it.

John felt his body suddenly seize up when the loud doorbell blasted his ears and went straight to his bones. The shock left him petrified like stone and he didn't even react to the sound of Mandy walking over to the door, hearing her unlock it, and then opening it. His breath got caught in his throat as he waited for something, anything that would tell him that it was alright, but any kind of hope ended with Mandy's voice echoing through the house.

"John? John!" There was something wrong with her. She sounded like she was in distress.

John found himself able to move again and immediately got to his feet, making for the steps upstairs. "Mandy?" He called out to her in a slight panic when she didn't answer back. When he made it to the doorway that she was standing in front of, he finally understood why she called for him. "Santino."

It was Santino D'Antonio, a clean-cut man in what looked to be an expensive suit. He would be considered handsome if his eyes didn't have this determined scowl that kinda threw John off. His voice was smooth too. "I was surprised to see Mandy answer the door instead of you," he said and ignored the woman's fretful gaze that was evolving to a hostile glare. "Good to see you both in good health. Especially Mandy after all these years."

John got over his initial shock and tugged Mandy back by her shoulder, not trusting her right now to keep her hands to herself. "Please...come in," he gestured while pulling his partner away as Santino stepped inside.

As John closed the door behind him, she caught a glimpse of multiple people standing outside in the driveway. He even noticed that Ares was out there too. He could tell that they were all armed and vigilant.

John hastily pulled Mandy into the kitchen to get out of sight for a moment. She was shaking but quiet towards him, completely avoiding eye contact too. Though he can't see her being mad at him just yet. Her eyes were focused on Santino, slowly narrowing into this harsh glare that intensified from the confusion of his presence.

"I was sorry to hear about your wife, John," Santino called out from the hallway.

"Thank you," John answered back politely. He glanced down to Mandy and placed a hand on her shoulder, but when he did, she finally spoke.

"Santino's here for a favor, ain't he?" She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and spoke coldly towards him. "So...what did YOU do?" Her voice was rough and darkened with seething resentment and anxiety combined.

It was Mandy's sharpness that made her realize that Santino wouldn't be here for anything else other than himself. Something happened in 'that' world that she and John don't know of yet, something that forced Santino D'Antonio to come down here.

Mandy was expecting him to tell her the truth since it was in their contract, but to her surprise, he quickly looked away and began to make some coffee for their uninvited guest. His face was twisted up in pain, a kind of regret that he knew she could see right through.

Mandy's eyes grew wide when he refused to say anything. She opened her mouth to protest but only to realize that she couldn't speak. She forgot how to speak, actually. The truth was going to come out eventually from Santino, but Mandy just wanted to hear it from John's mouth first. Yet, he refused to say anything...going completely against their contract.

After another couple of minutes, they both finally sat down with Santino, the man who had disturbed their newly earned peace. John was waiting with despair in the pit of his stomach, while Mandy was quiet and patient. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her face was stern.

Santino sighed softly and stared at the two legends in front of him. One who should be a ghost and the other who should be retired. "Listen, John, with all sincerity...I don't want to be here." he finally said and watched as John dropped his head, his voice coarse.

"Please, don't. I'm asking you not to do this."

Mandy lifted her arms in an annoyed manner and slapped them down at her side. "What's all this about? Can someone please tell me what the FUCK is going on?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry too, Mandy." Santino leaned back in his chair and reached for the inner pocket of his coat. "It's because of your partnership with John...that this concerns you too. No one gets out and comes back without repercussions." He took out this small silver disk with a skull on the front of it. He set it down on the table and it made a sharp clicking sound that made Mandy flinch, the color draining from her face and falling into a deep depression. "I do this with a heavy heart," He slid it across the table in front of John. "But remember, it was because of me...that Mandy's sudden abandonment didn't come back to haunt you."

Instinctively, Mandy brought her hand up to her mouth when she felt the sudden urge to throw up, but nothing happened in the end. The ill feeling didn't fade though. Her skin was crawling like fire ants had invaded her body and the agony of her heart had made her fall silent.

She had always wondered why nothing happened to John after she left. She didn't think about the effects of her abandonment that should have fallen back on him, though he never mentioned anything about it. She understood now that it was Santino that stopped any kind of consequences from happening.

"John..." Mandy choked up. "You made a Marker?"

Once again, John's eyes crinkled with pain, and for the first time, he looked at her. "I'm sorry," he pleaded in a broken whisper.

Santino explained his involvement a little further. "If not for what I did on the night of John's impossible task, he wouldn't be here right now, like this. This is because of me. This, in part, is mine," he hissed through his teeth when Mandy abruptly slammed her hand on the table, hard enough to make it rattle and silence him.

Mandy got up from her chair so fast that she knocked it over, kicking it aside and storming out of the room without another word, much less a glance.

John swallowed hard as his world began to spin. "Take it back."

"Take it back?" Santino had to repeat it to make sure he heard such nonsense right.

"Take it back. I'm not doing this to Mandy," he said sharply.

"A Marker is no small thing, John. For a man to grant a Marker to another, is to bind a soul to a blood oath." Santino tightened his jaw. "It's the same kind of structure that binds you and Mandy, which is why it must involve her too."

John still refused to budge. "Find someone else. I'm not dragging Mandy back into this. I just can't." He pushed the Marker back over.

"Listen to me." Santino snatched the Marker and opened it up, showing a bloody fingerprint on the inside. "What is this? Hmm? Do you remember? This is your blood. You came to me when you couldn't go to Mandy anymore. I helped you. And if you don't do this, you know the consequences. And they will most certainly...won't be kind to Mandy either."

John began to feel his hands start to tremble. "I'm not that guy anymore." His voice was deep but riddled with weariness.

Santino stared at him, burned his eyes into him that went all the way to his soul. "You are always that guy, John. Both you and Mandy." He stated it like it was a well-known fact, snapping the Marker close and sliding it back over the table. The scratching sound of it being dragged hurt John's ears.

"I can't help you." He shook his head and slid it back over the table one last time. "I'm sorry."

It looked like a storm was brewing in Santino's eyes now, but he only smiled at him. "Yes. You're right." He put the Marker away and stood up with him. "You can't. But he can." Santino pulled his hands in his pockets and headed over towards the door. "I'll see you and Mandy soon, John."

Nothing about this evening felt right anymore. The world was repeating itself once again like an unending mirror. John knew what Santino was going to do next and he anticipated every step he took while walking him out the door and into the night, even his last words seemed forced and venomous.

"You have a beautiful home, John." He bid him farewell and the door was gently closed.

John immediately went looking for Mandy after Santino left. He found her fairly quickly since she didn't get far. She stood in the hallway with her back towards him, fixated on a picture of him and Helen. The golden hue of her eyes was still burning though, consumed with intense fury.

"Mandy," John called for her but she didn't even react to his voice. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mandy-" He suddenly felt his hand get ripped off and slapped away with much ferocity. It stung like a mad hornet and he's sure her nails might've cut him too by accident. Still, nothing could beat the distraught look on his face when Mandy suddenly whipped her head around and shouted at him, completely red-faced.

"I thought you were done." Her voice was a piercing howl.

Reality fell away from him for a moment when she raised her voice. He quickly got over it though when he began to feel a searing pain coming from his right hand. "I am." He looked down and saw that she did actually draw blood from scratching him.

Mandy pointed her trembling finger right in his face. "No, you half-assed it. You don't make a Marker with someone when you plan to retire, and you especially...don't make one with Santino D'Antonio of all people. Of course, he was going to come and collect! Did you really think he would just forget and leave you be? That's not how making a Marker works."

John stepped back to get a better look at her. Not only was her face bright red but her eyes were glassy too. Her breathing was rough and it sounded like she was doing everything in her power to stop herself from crying. She was probably tired of crying, which is why she was struggling so much.

"I know that," he said.

"Oh, really? Do you really know that? Because you sure looked just as damn surprised as I did when that man turned up on your doorstep!" Her voice began to break up like a bad radio connection. It was becoming weak and small as her character began to break down. No longer could she raise her voice. She just didn't have the mental strength to do that anymore. "John, I'm...I'm tired. I'm more than just a little tired. I'm exhausted. I was...I was wanting to stop. I was ready...to stop." She sucked in a deep and sharp breath before biting down on her lips, still refusing to fully cry.

John went to touch her shoulders one more time. Luckily she didn't fall away from him like last time. "I was too. I was ready to forget it." He squeezed her shoulders tightly. "Mandy...I'm just...I'm sorry."

Mandy blinked slowly as tears attached themselves to her lashes. Her eyes snapped wide open though when she heard the sound of glass shattering. Flames of scarlet clouded her vision in an instant and there was this heavy push against her body. It was so strong that it caused both her and John to fly through the window behind them and slide across the ground.

John unraveled his arms from Mandy's body and looked up to see that his house was now in flames. Hell attached itself to his house and burned it up like a tinderbox. Windows were shattered, precious possessions were gone, and the memories that both John, Mandy, and Helen had were demolished, turning into smoke that only blanketed the sky.

Their skin smoldered against the intense heat but not nearly as fierce as their eyes were. They said nothing to each other and merely burned the image of the red house into their minds, all while feeling their desires slip from their fingers and burn up with everything else.


	5. The Tomb Without A Body

**THE TOMB WITHOUT A BODY**

Her hands were lightly burned and colored black from the soot on the ground. Her fingers trembled slightly as they traced the rubble below her like she was looking for something. Her eyes hardened though when she spotted a faint but silver glimmer right below her. Mandy tightened her jaw with anticipation and felt her stomach drop when she pulled it from the ground. A silver bracelet with daisies on it. She speculated that it must've been a present John gave to Helen before she passed. John never told Mandy about this but it didn't take her much to figure out the pattern. It must've been her favorite flower.

She continued to stare at the bracelet with these eyes that burned like a million suns, glowing brighter than anything. She held the bracelet tightly in her hand and pondered for a moment on what to do with it. There was one thought though that crossed her mind. It was fleeting and faded in seconds, but for a moment, she had a strong urge to throw it away, knowing it would've been lost forever if she did. She stomped on those devilish thoughts though and locked it in her hand, marching out of the remains of the charred house that once held the cherished memories of the Wick family.

The long night was still far from over and there were at least a few hours of darkness left before the sun could rise and finally put an end to the day. Time felt like it was moving by slowly though, just as slow as Mandy strolled back to the parking lot where the police cars and firetrucks were. Their flashing blue and red lights were absolutely blinding in the darkness but she was able to spot John sitting by a truck with the unnamed dog beside him.

John glanced up and hesitated to even speak since he wasn't sure if Mandy was still mad or not. Good chance that she was though since she was quiet. "Mandy?" he said, a bit surprised to hear how much his voice cracked by just saying her name. "Mandy, are you alright?" He at least wanted to make sure of that.

She didn't say anything to him though and just kept her eyes pressed forwards, petting the dog and scratching behind his ears. "Yeah," Mandy answered quickly. She glanced down to her clenched hand before clicking her tongue. "Here." She opened her hand and presented the damaged bracelet in front of his eyes. "Found this under some of the rubble. Thought you'd want it."

John blinked wildly and stared at the dancing bracelet that swung back and forth before his eyes. He grabbed it but not before catching a glimpse of Mandy's hand. They were covered in soot that bunched under her fingernails, which was strange since she made it sound as if it was a coincidence. That didn't seem to be the case though since her hands told him a different story. He believed that she must've been looking for it to begin with.

He swallowed a hard lump down his throat and dropped his head. "Thank you, Mandy," he said with a croaked voice.

"Yeah, whatever." She crossed her eyes over her chest and groaned loudly. "Out of the pan and into the freaking fire..."

"Yeah."

"So what's gonna be the cover for this? A huge damn gas leak?

John looked back to his house that was nothing but a smoldering pile of black wood. He really couldn't recognize it anymore. "Yeah, I guess..." He got up and gestures for the dog to follow. "Come on, boy." John began to walk off down the road when he noticed that Mandy wasn't moving. He wasn't going to lie, it made him panic a bit when she just stood there. "Mandy, are you coming?"

She breathed in deeply and felt the dense smoke enter her lungs and exit back out. "A partnership that is bound by blood," Mandy muttered and turned her head over to him, cocking a brow. "Don't really got a choice, now do I?" She swayed her body to the side and dipped her head down low. She stuck her hands into the pockets of her oversized sweatpants and walked at a casual pace to catch up to John.

* * *

Never once did Mandy think she would end up crawling back to the Continental Hotel shortly after leaving it. The fact that it only been a couple of days still dumbfounded her. So many things have happened during that time that made it seem like she was stuck in an eternal loop. The previous night, the night that truly made it feel like everything had finally ended, felt like a distant dream to her now. Little did she know that it was actually the calm before the storm.

The concierge looked up from his desk when at the corner of his eye, saw two shadows approach him, filling the air with the smell of smoke as they stopped in front of the desk. His eyes furrowed with deep confusion when he saw that it was Mandy and John, back once again. Their clothes were covered in soot and their whole appearance looked slightly disheveled. Mandy was the worse though, not only was she not properly dressed and lacking shoes, but there was also chilling hailstorm brewing just at the surface of her eyes. No one needed to take a second glance at her to know that she was angry and barely keeping it at bay.

"I'd like to see the manager," John asked, still polite as ever.

"How good to see you again so soon, Mr. Wick, Ms. Rose," he greeted them. "Shall I announce you?"

"Yes, please." John glanced down at the dog who had followed them inside the hotel. He felt his heart sway a bit when he looked up at him with those identical brown eyes that looked exactly like Mandy's, just less angry. "Stay," he ordered and watched as the dog did as he was told and sat down.

Mandy was about to follow after John before she stopped and backed up to the desk. She snapped her fingers and gestured towards the concierge. "Charon, You wouldn't have some spare clothes for me to borrow, would you?"

"We do in fact have some. Shall I prepare a set for you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, if you can." She tried to smile but it faded away to quickly to be actually genuine.

* * *

John opened up the double glass doors and headed out onto the balcony where he and Mandy saw Winston. He was sat down at a table with another gentleman with a box of gold coins in his hands.

Mandy walked right up to them with an intense gaze staring straight through him. Her jaw was set and she truly looked moments away from snapping. "Where is he?" she demanded with a voice made of burning steel.

Winston turned grim and sighed, quickly wrapping up his business to not try and anger the madwoman anymore. He got up and shook the gentleman's hand."Thank you, my friend. Beautiful work. Beautiful." He waited a minute after everyone left before he finally addressed the two. "What are you two doing?"

"He burned down my house," John answered.

"You rejected his Marker. You're lucky he stopped there." He took in a deep breath and shook his head. "What the hell were you thinking, giving a Marker to a man like Santino D'Antonio?"

John looked away, taking a quick glance over to Mandy, only to find that she was staring dead at him with these disappointed eyes. "I...didn't have Mandy with me anymore. It was the only way I could get out."

"Oh. You call this 'out'? What do you think was going to happen? What did you expect?" Winston took a seat and gestured for John to do the same. Mandy continued to stand and lean on the back of John's chair. "Did you really not think this was never going to come?"

Winston stared at them for a silent moment and studied their behavior. No doubt John was mad but he seemed very reserved about the topic around Mandy. Mandy, on the other hand, was quiet and seething. It's not like it wasn't unheard of but just the thought of her being mad at John was an unfathomable idea. Then again, John didn't have a choice so Mandy didn't have room to talk, but her anger was understandable knowing her sheer dislike of the job. Winston knew that all too well, which is probably why John rejected the Marker.

"What does he want you to do?" Winston asked.

"I didn't ask. I just said no," John answered.

"Three rules that cannot be broken, Jonathan. No blood on Continental ground, a Partnership cannot be undone, and every Marker must be honored." Winston explained shortly and saw Mandy squirm with the idea. "Now, while my judgment comes in the form of excommunicado, the High Table demands a more severe outcome if traditions are refused. If it wasn't for Santino D'Antonio, Mandy would've been hunted down and executed a long time ago."

Mandy felt her blood run cold in an instant as her anger gradually simmered away. "Yeah...I know that already," she muttered weakly. "So we're stuck."

"You dishonor the Marker, you die. You kill the holder of the Marker, you die. You run, you die." Winston laid it out for them. "This is what you agreed to, Jonathan. Do what the man asks. Be free. Then, if you want, go after him, burn his house down, be my guest. But until then..."

"Rules," they both said.

"Exactly. Rules. Without them, we'd live with the animals." Winston grabbed a pencil from off the table and pulled a sheet of paper out from a document in front of him. "But I will offer you one last piece of advice." He quickly wrote down what looked to be an address and handed it over to Mandy. "When you do go and meet him...do not bring Mandy with you," he said it like a warning.

John nodded and didn't even disagree. "Yeah, I was planning on seeing him by myself," he said and ignored the insulted look Mandy gave him.

She scoffed and looked down at the paper, slightly offended but not really surprised. "You guys are a bunch of assholes." She squinted her eyebrows together and she read the address. "Fine, whatever." She gave a wave to both of them and head back into the hotel to get dressed. "We'll meet back up later."

* * *

Begrudgingly, John left Mandy at the Continental Hotel and made the track over to Santino's residence. It was a grand estate that acted as a museum of modern art. There were multiple floors with peculiar exhibits and interesting sculptures with paintings all over the place. There was also a lot of staff there that had someone stationed in every room that gave no opportunities for an attack, and after being patted down thoroughly by Ares, John was let into an art room to meet Santino.

The man was sat silently in a room that had a large painting in front of him that took up half the wall. "This was my father's collection," he said when John stopped beside him. "I see a little more than just paint on canvas, of course. But I do find myself here." Santino gestured for John to take a seat."I didn't want to do this, John. Had you stayed retired, I would have respected it...and if Mandy had stayed gone, then..." He let his words trail off.

John's face was stone cold with not a hint of emotion on his rough profile. His eyes were the only dead give away to what he was really thinking though. Maybe Santino was telling the truth and maybe he wasn't. He didn't care though since the line had already been crossed. Not only his, but both his and Mandy's life had been burned away.

"You didn't bring Mandy with you?" Santino pointed out and looked around to find her. Now noticing that John really did come alone. "I'm surprised. Why did you?"

"I didn't want to risk it...because I know what she would do if she saw you." John placed his hands on his lap and locked them together until they turned white.

Santino laughed a bit as his lips slowly moved up into a smirk. "You seem to know her quite well. You two have been working together for what? 7 years up to her disappearance?" Despite John's warning, Santino didn't look the least bit concern about the threat. "But I doubt she would be able to get to me on time."

"No," John cut in firmly and turned his head in his direction. There was only reassurance and confidence in his words. "She would."

Santino looked perplexed with what felt like needles running down his spine and under his skin, chilling him to the bone. he sucked in a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "Are we still talking about the same woman. You're partner, Mandy Rose...doesn't have the best reputation. She's known for being mad and reckless to the point of absurdity."

"Then...you can explain to me why she is still alive." His rough voice made the hairs on the back of Santino's neck stand up.

His body felt cold and his breathing became shallow. "Which is why I needed you both. A boogeyman and a grim fairy tale. I needed both John Wick and Mandy Rose."

John cut in sharply and simply just wanted to end the conversation. Being in this room made him feel sick and listening to Santino talk for so long but not getting to the point only made it worse. "Just...tell me what you want."

Santino took a moment to reflect on his decision before he spoke, his voice softer than usual. "I want you two to kill my sister."

John froze and his eyes grew wide with denial. "Why?"

"There are 12 seats at the High table. Camorra, mafia, and Ndrangeheta. The Chinese, the Russian. When my father died...he willed his seat to her. She represents Camorra now. And I can't help but wonder what I might accomplish in her stead."

John needed more than just a second to prosses everything. He needed hours, days, weeks. It was like his brain wasn't working fast enough. "You want me to kill...Gianna D'Antonio?"

"I could never do it." Santino dropped his head. "She is my blood. I still love her."

"It can't be done." John shook his head.

"She's in Rome for her coronation. You will take the catacombs in..."

"It doesn't matter where she is."

Santino snapped his head over and stared right at him, locking his gaze in place with this sheer desire for power flowing out of him."That's why I need the ghost, lo spettro. That's why I need you two. Do this for me, and your Marker is honored. What say you?"

John didn't give this corrupted man the satisfaction of an answer. He only got up and left the room, leaving behind a chilling and haunting silence in his stead.

"Never one to waste words."

John's fingers were still twitching after he left the museum. His heart was racing so much that he had to sit down on the curb and just take a moment to calm himself before he could do anything. It also gave him a minute to finally take everything in that had happened and what Santino wanted from him and Mandy. But killing Gianna though...it was the last thing he would have expected.

John didn't know what to do with himself for the longest time and just sat silently on the curb as cars rolled by him, one by one, counting them until he was up in the '50s. He didn't know how long he sat there but it had to have been at least twenty minutes, that until he felt his phone ring in his pocket that snapped him back to reality. He pulled it out and saw that it was Mandy calling him. For some reason though, he felt his stomach drop with the thought of having to tell her.

Reluctantly, he answered it and spoke right away. "Mandy?" he waited for a second but she still didn't answer him back. She was quiet and he could hear her soft breathing on the other end. "Mandy, are you alright?" he said more urgently after picking up on her uneasy silence.

After a minute of stuttering and annoyed groans, she finally spoke. Words poured from her mouth but there was no emotion. Her tone was flat and defeated. "John...I can't do this."

* * *

The New York Marble Cemetery was a place enclosed by tall stone walls with a large black gated entrance. It was closed today but the latch was still unlocked and slightly cracked open. John walked towards the gate with a duffle bag over his shoulder that had gloves, small shovels, and a sledgehammer inside. It's what Mandy told him to get in vague detail before hanging up abruptly. He was surprised to know that she was at a cemetery. She didn't sound panicked though or anything like that...just distant and sad.

He walked past the gate and closed it behind him, looking around briefly to see if he could spot his partner among the sea of stone heads. A lot were old and faded but some were newer than most. There were also a couple of mausoleums too, one in which he saw Mandy sitting down in front of. She had her head in her hand with a half-empty body of vodka right next to her.

John felt a bit hesitant and didn't know how to approach the situation at first. He made his footsteps as light as possible and approached her cautiously. "Mandy?" he said as gently as he could to not startle her. The moment she looked up at him though he realized that she was far from being startled. Her face was slightly flushed and her eyes were glassy, a sure sign of being a bit tipsy.

Mandy smiled wickedly at him and ran her words together slowly and slurred. "Well...if it ain't Johnathan Wick. How the fuck has your day been?" Her words were spiteful and her smile dropped in record-breaking time. Apparently she wasn't drunk enough to deal with whatever this was.

John put his things down on the top step and kneeled down in front of her. He placed a hand on the side of her face and felt how warm her skin was. He even spotted another bottle behind her that was completely empty. "Have you been drinking this whole time?"

Mandy's eyes hardened and her jaw clenched. "It's a tomb, John. They put my passport, ID, and other work-related things in a freaking tomb. This isn't a damn joke anymore!" She looked outraged by this and even close to tears. "So I called you...and tried to get drunk while I was waiting. Should've gotten three bottles though." She grunted through her teeth and grabbed the bottle to down more of the bitter liquid.

John looked up at the door of the mausoleum and saw that the chain was still wrapped around the handle. "You haven't opened it yet?"

Mandy's voice was meek like a small mouse. She pulled her eyes away from him to fiddle with her fingers. "I didn't want to do this alone..." She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry for calling you here over something like this. I know I'm being a chicken shit but what else is new? I'm a freaking coward and that's just how it is for me, I guess," she said it like it was a stone-cold fact when John knew with all his heart that it wasn't true

"Mandy, you're not a coward."

"I never told you about Adrian and I ran away from my problems for 10 years because of it," Mandy said bluntly and looked him straight in the eyes. "If you don't think that is cowardness than I really want to hear your definition of one."

John got back in front of her and tugged at the bottle in her hand and pulled it away. Luckily she didn't fight him on it, only because she didn't have the strength to do it. "Hey," he said and gently touched her shoulder. "I mean it. You're not a coward." That was the truth and no one could tell him otherwise. He didn't care how much time has passed. He knew this woman like the back of his own hand. He hated the fact that she thought so little of herself though.

Mandy kept her eyes locked with his and scoffed. "Really?" She was sarcastic with her answer so John couldn't tell if she was serious or not. She got off-topic pretty fast though and got up off the stairs, turning around to face the tomb that was definitely old looking. 10 years certainly weren't kind to it. "Ah...son of a bitch. A tomb without a body. Is that even still a tomb?"

John got up and joined her at the door. "I don't think so."

"Yeah. Me neither. Imagine if they did put a body in it. That would be Winston's idea of a cruel joke." Her voice had a hint of a smile but he couldn't see in time to confirm it.

"Let's hope that isn't the case."

Mandy tossed the key up in the air and John caught it. He inserted it into the lock and turned it very slowly until he heard the click. He unraveled the chains from the door and gently opened it up. The whole thing creaked with a dense musty and smell emitting from it. He left the door open so the outside light could flood in. The room was empty but on the right side of the wall was a black plack with gold lettering.

_MANDY KATHARINE ROSE_

_1971 - 2003_

_"MAY THE DEVIL REST FOR AN HOUR BEFORE HE KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD."_

"Not many cobwebs. Has someone been in here recently?" John looked around and noticed that something was sitting below the plack. It was a bouquet of wilted and dead flowers with some of its petals scattered around the floor. "What's that?"

"Roses." Mandy crouched down and picked up the bouquet that practically fell apart in her hands. There was a small slip of paper attached to it though. She furrowed her brows and looked at. A spark of emotions suddenly flooded her eyes before they wilted too, turning sullen. "Marcus."

"What?"

Mandy reached up and handed him the small piece of paper to look at. There wasn't anything on it aside from his name and a couple of numbers, which was odd. It made sense though on why there weren't many cobwebs. Marcus must've come here a couple of months back and left roses for her.

"3,799? What's that?"

"Days, John. Up to the last time he's been here. I was missing in action for 3,799 days. That's 10 years."

John felt a strike of pain in his heart that made his body shudder. "Marcus was counting the whole time?"

The only reason why she knew that right away was because she was counting too. "Yeah...I guess." She dropped the roses and rubbed her hands over her eyes like she was trying to prevent herself from crying. She didn't turn around just yet and only snapped her fingers for him to give back the paper, in which he did and watch her quickly slip it into her pocket. "Shit..." she cursed under her breath.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." She turned around and nodded her head. Her eyes were still glassy like before so he wasn't really sure how close she was to crying, trying her best to hold it back behind clenched teeth though. "Well..." she sucked in a deep breath and laughed awkwardly like she was using it to cover everything up. It would probably be best for her though to move on. "let's get this over with." She walked outside briefly and came back in with a sledgehammer from John's bag. "Hey, John. Would you mind...decimating my grave?" She flashed him a goofy grin and handed it to him.

John looked dumbfounded and just stood there. "Why me?" He cocked a brow and stared at her.

"Cause I don't want to do it."

"It's your grave though."

"No. We talked about this. Remember? It's basically a storage hold...in the shape of a tomb." Mandy saw how much he was hesitating and rolled her eyes. "I can't haunt you if I ain't dead yet. Man up already. This is what friends do." She gave him a rough pat on the back.

"Destroy graves?"

"No. We destroy each other's graves. Not to mention...I got shot in the back a couple of days ago, remember?" She pointed out.

John considered it for a solid minute before giving up, taking the hammer up into both his hands. "Alright. Just take a step back."

Mandy stood by the entrance while John held the hammer up. He slammed it once against her plack and the gold letters shattered into millions of pieces, flying in all sorts of directions before hitting the ground. It felt strange to do this despite Mandy standing right behind him. Back then, he didn't know if she was alive but he never once considered _this_ place to be her final resting spot. Breaking her plack was like finally breaking a 10-year long delusion of her death. It didn't feel wrong. It felt liberating.

John tossed the hammer to the side after a couple more hits and finally made a hole big enough to look through. Mandy got down low and squinted her eyes hard to see if she could pierce the endless cavern. It was so dark that she was half expecting a surge of black hands to shoot out and drag her inside. Nothing like that happened though and all was quiet. Her eyes did finally adjust to the dark though.

"What's in it?" John got down to her level but still couldn't see anything.

"A suitcase." Mandy reached her arms inside the treacherous blackhole and felt around for the handle. "To be honest, I was half expecting there to be a real body."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. I just psyched myself out, that's all." she groaned and finally pulled it out, setting it on the ground and dusting the 10 years worth of dust off. It was rather large but not that heavy. Mandy was about to go for the locks when she stopped."Which reminds me. What did Santino D'Dumbass want?" She looked up and saw brief panic sweep across John's eyes. "What is it?"

John closed his eyes and looked down. "You're not gonna like it."

Mandy sucked in a deep breath and set her jaw. "I already don't like it. It's only gonna get worse from here so just tell me already."

He didn't know what to say much less where to begin. "It's..." John sat down across from her and pressed his back to the wall. "It's...his sister." He waited for a blow-up with a slur of curse words to follow but all he got was wide-eyed stillness from her.

Mandy's mouth fell open as she turned stunned. For a moment she thought she was going into shock until she spoke. "Gianna? Why?"

"He wants her spot at the High table."

"And he can't do it himself? That fucking spineless prick." Her eyes sharpened when she looked back to the case. "There was a reason why she was chosen and not him." She moved down to the latch and unbuckled them both but didn't open it up. Her hands were trembling and she found that she actually couldn't will herself to open it. Instead, she sat down next to John and pushed the case away with her leg. "John...I don't wanna do this, and right now...I just feel like I'm trapped." She stretched her legs out and just sat there, slumped like a noodle. "You know...when I heard that you made a Marker with Santino...for the first time in my life...I wanted to hate you."

Her soft words struck him hard and left him disoriented. That was the first time she had ever said something like that to him. He wanted to apologize a million times but wasn't sure on what words to use. "Mandy...I, uh..." He sucked in a deep breath and cleared his throat. Still, nothing happened and he couldn't say anything.

Mandy playfully shoved him in the shoulder and smiled bitterly. "I couldn't do it though. I just couldn't." She closed her eyes and moved her legs up to her chest. "You don't deserve to be hated for something that was completely out of your control. I know that better than anyone...but I still wanted someone to blame. I was angry. But what's pissing me off the most right now is...is the fact that I don't think I apologized for abandoning you 10 years ago." Guilt was a deadly thing to come across that worked like a slow-acting poison, making her insides burn and throb. She hated feeling like this but it was an old sensation. It was familiar.

John thought he had seen Mandy at her worse, but this felt different. She looked different and acted that way too. Her voice was distorted and it sounded as if someone was talking in her stead, using these words he had never wanted to hear from her. "You don't have to apologize," he said.

"Yes, I do. I realized it when talking with Winston. Back then...I guess my mind was too scrambled to even grasp the fact that I practically threw you to the wolves. I know it was stupid and selfish. I get that and I'm sorry." She rambled on before suddenly gasping deeply. Her eyes shot wide open and bulged out of her head, glassy and shimmering like a golden sun against the light. "God...I just don't know what else to say. Just...I'm sorry," she said in a small, shuddered breath before covering her eyes with her hand and turning away.

How many times did she have these thoughts? And how many times did she follow up with a smile? John felt like he should know but right now he didn't. He always thought that if she smiled and laughed, then she was fine. But now...those smiles looked more like masks to him.

He reached over and grabbed her free hand and wrapped it up in his. She was warm but shaking like she had been left outside for too long. "Mandy...you can't keep thinking like this. I don't blame you for what happened. I'm willing to look past it and move on, but only if you are." This was a plea. He needed her to be alright. He begged for her to be alright.

Mandy sniffled and pulled her hand away from her eyes and dropped it on her knee. "You know Santino's going to betray us the moment everything's done, right? Can either of us really move on?" She rolled her head over towards him and pressed her cheek against the cold stone wall.

"I don't know. I'm sorry that I don't have all the answers, but the only thing I want to make sure of right now is to know that we're alright. Are we?"

"I wanna be. It's the only thing I got going for me right now." She grabbed his hands too and held them tightly. Desperately. "John...you're all I have left. If you weren't here then...God knows. I know I'm a shitty friend but...thanks for sticking with me." She let out a long-deserved breath and finally smiled, but this time it looked genuine.

John smiled back and moved his hand to the back of her head and pulled her close. He kissed the top of her hair and could smell the lavender shampoo that came from the hotel. "I love you."

Mandy laughed awkwardly and hid her burning crimson face in his shoulder before mumbling back in the smallest voice. "Yeah...Love you, too."


	6. Dress To Impress The Devil

**DRESS TO IMPRESS THE DEVIL**

It was an elegant, two-story tailor shop that was painted into this beautiful shade of black and gold. The windows that wrapped around the building were darkly tinted and didn't allow any view inside. Not to mention, just looking at it explained that only certain people were allowed through those double, brass handled doors. People with either deep pockets or those with a deep business proposal. John looked uneasy but Mandy seemed rather delighted to be down at this shop. She hadn't been here in years and it was kind of refreshing to see that her favorite tailor shop was still as high-class as ever and kept its beautiful design. Nothing had changed and she can still hear the sound of lovely violin music playing inside.

"Mandy," John spoke in a weary voice and cast a look down at her.

She immediately put her hand up to stop him from saying anything more. "I don't wanna hear it. I know you ain't really a fan of them but-"

"That's not it. They're just...to eccentric for me to handle." John cut in, his face cringing up with the thought of having to deal with the owners.

"Please," Mandy playfully slapped him on his arm. "If you can handle me then you can handle them."

"I can only handle you because I've known you for years."

"Yeah, well. I've known these guys just as long as I have known you. If you want something done right. You start here." She swung her arm to the side and knocked it against John's stomach, making him double over slightly. "Come on. Let's go," she said with honest cheerfulness.

They walked towards the building and both grabbed a brass knob, yanking it open and letting the sound of music fill the air, a high pitched melody that was humbling and heartfelt but played with much confidence. It sounded lonely at first but then swelled with joy a the peak of its climax. A sorrowful song about finding hope through the seemingly never-ending darkness. A beautiful tune that was played by one of the owners of the shop. Marie-Laura Ancelet. They saw her standing there with her back towards them, drawing her bow across the strings, and producing a wonderful song. She swung her head to the side with each stride while putting her whole body into her harmony.

Mandy smiled brightly when she saw her old friend, covered in a lovely black dress that had an open back design. "Why do you always play the violin whenever someone shows up?" she asked with a smile so wide that it showed off all her teeth.

Marie-Laura didn't cease her performance and continued to stroke her bow back and forth. She finally spoke but her voice had a thick French accent attached to it that made her seem very elegant, yet she sounded aged. "It's because I like to impress people and give them a show." She stopped playing and turned around, her ink-black hair sweeping across her dusted pink cheeks that folded up when she smiled. She was in her mid 50's now and it was beginning to show on her skin, but the lively glimmer of jade in her dazzling eyes hadn't dimmed at all in the years. This woman was still stunningly beautiful. "I knew it was you since your footsteps are very distinct. Heavy...uneven...and with long, drawn-out strides."

This was how Mandy always knew Marie-Laura to be. She liked to impress people just to see their reaction and complement her. She got off on it, actually. "Color me impress then." Mandy shrugged just as her smile turned into a smirk. "Hello, Marie-Laura."

"It's been too long, ma chérie. I thought you had passed on by now." She placed her violin and bow down on the check-in desk and walked over to them with the loose fabric of her dress swaying side to side. "You would have to be the luckiest person in the world to survive this long with your attitude." She opened her arms up wide and wrapped them around Mandy who was already awaiting the comforting, mother-like embrace. Marie-Laura spoke low but just enough for her to hear. "It must've been hard...being out there by yourself."

Mandy flinched at the tone of her voice before burying her face in her shoulder. "I guess you can say that." She took in the scent of the woman's perfume that smelled of roses and honey, but there was also a faint trace of cigarette smoke that must've come from her husband.

Marie-Laura looked up and smiled warmly at John who hadn't moved at all from the entrance. He stood there like a fish out of water, and of course, it didn't go unnoticed by her. Marie-Laura pulled away from Mandy and walked over to him, moving right up into his personal space and shaking his rough hands. "John, It pains me to know that you didn't come and visit me and Robin at all."

"I'm sorry, Marie," he apologized sheepishly. He meant it too since Marie-Laura was quite close to Mandy, just how Marcus had been. They all shared fond memories of her. "I was...I was trying to get out of this life."

"Mm, well...you're not really doing a great job right now." She said dryly before noticing the cuts across his face, matching up perfectly with the ones on Mandy's. "Your faces have seen better days too. So something tells me your on a job right now. Are you both in search of some new clothes?" she said and glided her hand across the cuts on his face, appearing puzzled at what they must've gotten into.

"That's right, and we're gonna need the package deal too," Mandy answered hesitantly, "If you know what I mean."

There was a subtle change in Marie-Laura's eyes. "Ah. Now I get it." She turned her head towards the tinted, one-way window. No one could see inside but she could easily see them. Ares was out there, staring at them with a confused look in her face. "Ares..." she muttered just as a new voice flooded the room.

"Marie? Dear, care to explain why Santino D'Antonio's men are stalking outside our store?" It was the boisterous voice of Robin, Marie-Laura's husband of many years. He was a dashing man in his 50's who was well put together and wrapped up in a dark blue suit. His hair was a crisp copper brown with spots of white mixed in that came naturally for a man his age.

"Yeah, I noticed," Marie-Laura said.

Robin's face twisted with annoyance when he sensed trouble just on the horizon. "I already finished _and_ delivered his coronation suit. Why are they still here?"

"They're not here for us. Well...at least not yet." Marie-Laura said as her eyes fell on Mandy and John. "I guess they're here because of those two."

Robin turned to where she was pointing and his eyes grew wide. "Mandy Rose..." he said in awe, his gray eyes storming with emotions that hadn't surfaced since the time she disappeared. "I thought I felt the room gradually become colder," he jokingly said with a playful frown.

Mandy laughed a bit at this guy's dry demeanor that was too relaxed despite his shop being staked out. "Hey, Robin. How's it going?" She offered her hand out and shook his.

"World's been quiet since you've been gone and I've enjoyed every last moment of it until today," he winked after giving her a firm pat on the shoulder, strong enough to make her lose her balance a bit. Mandy was comforted with the fact that he was as strong as ever. Age can't take that away from him.

"I'm sure you did."

Robin looked past Mandy and up to John. "Good to see you too, Mr. Wick." he greeted politely.

John looked apprehensive at first before shaking the man's hand. "Robin. Sorry but...did you say-"

"Yeah, I know." His voice dropped a few notches while he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his inner coat pocket. He took one out and lit it with a zippo lighter that looked just as old as him. "I had a feeling something was wrong when Santino came here a couple of days ago, looking to get a suit tailored for his coronation...despite Gianna D'Antonio taking the High Table seat instead of him. Now you two show up on our doorstep?" His eyes burned with deadly suspicion as he took a drag on his cigarette.

Marie-Laura gestured everyone into the waiting room for more privacy and sat down on one of the two couches that were placed between a large coffee table. She and Robin were quiet but their calm expressions told Mandy and John that these two already knew what was going on and why they were here.

"So...you two know?" John asked while taking a seat next to Mandy.

"Of course, we do," Marie-laura said while smoothing out her black dress and crossing her legs. "Walls talk and people have loudmouths. Especially Santino. Goodness gracious, that man practically cut open his heart and spilled everything to Robin when he was getting his measurements done," she sighed with defeat. "It appears that he's already doing his preparations despite Gianna still being alive. Sources say that she's in Rome right now too."

Robin put his cigarette out in the ashtray in front of him. "You being here tells us all we need to know. You need clothes for the occasion...and information, right?"

The tailor shop was always a front and more so a hoppy that Robin and Marie-Laura had picked up, but their main source of business was information gathering and selling. They were underground informants, dangerous people who have knowledge that the general public was never supposed to know. They do get types like Mandy and John coming in from time to time but they have absolutely no connection with the High Table and their world.

"Getting information from the underground comes at a high price," Marie-Laura said and saw Mandy's face scrunch up.

"Of course, Marie, we'll pay," Mandy said but was shushed immediately by the beautiful owner.

"What are you talking about, ma chérie? I don't need your money," Marie suddenly smiled, warm and gentle. "After all, I...will forever be your ally." She proclaimed proudly before frowning. "Besides, I hate getting money from the High Table. It makes them believe that they're entitled to my assets. But in truth, no one is. This is my kingdom alone. I would burn it down myself before finding it in their hands." Her words were scorching hot and held a deep resentment that made Mandy cock a brow.

"Ah, Marie. Enough with that morbid talk." Robin raised his hand and set it down gently on Marie's shoulder. He could feel how tense she was. "We got a tall order coming up."

Marie-Laura's face fell a bit but she nodded her head. "Yeah, I understand." And like that, she smiled once more and appeared to have reverted back to her kind and bold self. "We've got quite an arrangement for you two to choose from. Robin, will you be a dear and take care of John so I can do Mandy. I haven't seen her for such a long time and I would like a little time to talk."

"Sure. I take fitting room one while you take two?" Robin nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Marie glanced up at the clock to make a quick calculation of how long things were going to take. For one person each, she predicted that it would take two hours to draw up a rough design of what both Mandy and John wanted. Luckily, they were pretty easy people to work with, Mandy most of all since she always let Marie-Laura do what she wanted.

* * *

Robin was diligent, quiet, and hardly made a sound when he took John's measurements and wrote them down on a notepad behind him that was laying on a desk. He would momentarily get distracted though when he heard Marie-Laura raise her voice in the other fitting room, smile, and look back down. The man was definitely in his element and wrote down every little detail that John wanted in his suit and made sure not to leave any question unanswered. Small talk was never Robin's strong suit and he never was the one to instigate a conversation either.

John picked his head up when he heard Mandy laughing slightly in the other room. "Robin," he asked.

Robin's eyes peered up at him. "What is it?" He stepped back and dropped the measuring tape around his neck and pulled the pencil out from behind his ear.

"I never asked before but...how can those two get along so well?"

Robin grabbed the notepad behind him and wrote down the rest of the measurements he had memorized in his head. He can understand that Marie-Laura's boldness can be a bit much sometimes but she always seemed to meld well with Mandy in the past. It then dawned on him that those two had more in common than John and Mandy did. "I'm thinking it's because they had a pretty similar upbringing."

John furrowed his brows. "Marie-Laura? We are talking about the same woman, right?" He asked seriously and got a chuckle out of him.

"Yeah, we're talking about the same Marie." Robin smiled fondly. "From what she was...to who she is today. She's extremely proud and passionate about her job. She'd built this kingdom herself and worked hard to be the woman she is today." He looked up from his papers and spoke with deep pride and passion embedded in his voice. "I'm proud to call that woman my wife."

Once again, the very diligent silence fell between them as Robin went back to work. He set the notepad back down on the table and rummaged through some new fabric he obtained recently in the drawers. He stopped though, quite suddenly and peeked over his shoulder. John noticed that his demeanor kind of shifted a little.

"You know, Gianna came here a month ago, requesting a glamourous dress," Robin spoke with a darkened voice. "Of course, we didn't know what would become of her at the time but...we still did our very best."

John felt his throat clench up and his stomach dance. "What did it look like? The dress."

Robin shrugged. "It was silver. Dazzling. The woman could blind everyone in a room just by walking around in it." His voice was flat now like he had purposely detached himself from his emotions so they wouldn't flare-up in front of him. John knew that trick all too well. He knew how to do it and so did Mandy. It was something the people in _that_ world would do when they needed to step away from an emotional situation that got too much for them.

"I see." John lowered his head and swallowed hard.

"Yeah. Kinda makes me sick to think about it now. I couldn't even imagine what Marie-Laura felt." He stood beside himself and didn't want to ask any more questions, in fear that Marie might hear them. "But like I said. Enough of this morbid talk." Robin quickly, almost at an inhuman speed, pulled himself together and turned back into a tailored professional once again. He looked back at his notes and relayed everything back to John, clearing his throat before speaking. "Alright. So you want one suit for day, another for night. An Italian style, two-buttons, and tapered trousers. Correct?

"Yes."

"Great. And for the fabric, may I offer something...with a little more flare?" Robin went back over to the dresser and pulled a bundle of fabric out.

"Like?" John furrowed his brows.

"Well...tactical, of course," he smirked and unraveled the strange material. "I already told Marie-Laura about this and she was ecstatic about the idea." He handed him a piece of the fabric for him to feel since it had such a strange sensation. It had a weird combination of being silky but also rough in some places.

"What is it?" John asked and moved it around in his hand, pulling it to see how much it can stretch.

"A lot..." Robin answered bluntly. "Silicon carbide discs, ceramic matrices, accompanying laminates. It's the new cutting-edge body armor. Just sew it between the fabric and brace yourself."

That last comment caught him off guard a bit. "Brace myself?" John looked up and frowned.

"It hurts to get shot...no matter which way you look at it." Robin scoffed at his confused expression and spoke as if he had experience in the matter.

* * *

Marie-Laura did have Mandy's old measurements but they were 10 years out of date, so she had to get new ones. She found something disturbing though while updating them. She thought that Mandy would have gained some weight since it's natural for the body to do that when it ages, but it seems that she's below her original measurements now. It wasn't a lot, just a few pounds lower. Still, Marie-Laura didn't know what to think about it. It made her wonder what Mandy had been doing these past few years. And honestly, it was a bit concerning since she knew how emotionally unstable Mandy can be at times.

Marie-Laura paused for a moment when she realized that Mandy had been quiet for a bit too long, only now looking up to see how troubled her face really was. Something was on her mind but she appeared hesitant. Too scared almost to ask a question.

"Mandy, something the matter?" Marie-Laura asked. "You look like you wanna say something."

Mandy smiled a bit. "That obvious?"

"Yes." Marie cocked a brow.

Mandy's smile melted down into a frown. "Both you and John, I swear... I was just..." she paused suddenly and bit down on her lips before accidentally studdering on her words. "Were...were you the one who put those words on my tomb back at the Marbel Cemetary? The thing about giving the Devil a headache."

Marie-Laura furrowed her brow. "How'd you guess? I always thought...if you died, you wouldn't have stayed dead for long. I figured you would have annoyed the Devil enough for him to send you back to the world of the living. And look at you now. You had come back to us. Back to John."

Mandy lowered her head and huffed, breathing deeply and dropping her voice to nothing but a whisper. "Meeting him again...was honestly just dumb luck."

"I always thought that dumb luck was just a different term for the word fate." Marie's pink lips curled up into a smirk.

Mandy scoffed at the statement but wasn't surprised to hear it. Marie-laura always talked like that, speaking with pretty words that she must've heard from a fairytale. "You believe in fate?"

"Of course, ma chérie. The gods created a patient man like Robin not for any woman on this planet. It was fate that he was meant to be mine." She wasn't wrong about that. Robin had to have the patience of a saint to be able to adore Marie-Laura for this long.

"The confidence you have in that theory is something I always strived to have," Mandy muttered and fell quiet once again, the lost and troubled expression returning to her face the moment she closed her mouth.

Marie Laura signed and pulled her measuring tape away. "Mandy." She spoke gently since she knew something was amiss. "Do not be afraid to ask me something. You know I will always give you the truth." Her warmness seemed to have worked and Mandy was able to relax a bit, still studdering on her words though and a little reluctant.

"Is...is _she_ still alive?"

It was a simple question but it made a cold chill spike up Marie-Laura's spine. "I get it now. Jesus...guilt has their fingers tight around your throat, doesn't it?" her voice turned rough and her lips parted with shock.

Mandy tightened her jaw and grit down on her teeth. "Just tell me if she's alive or not."

"She is. But she hadn't visited me since the day you left." Marie-Laura felt her heart clench up. She reached up and grabbed Mandy by her shoulder, walking into view and focusing her eyes only on her. She spoke firmly, almost like how a concerned mother would talk. "But for everyone's sake, don't go looking for her. You're only gonna get yourself killed. Or worse. You're gonna end up killing each other. Don't do anything like that to John. He's been through a lot after you disappeared."

A wave of anxiety surfaced and coursed through every nerve in Mandy's body and made her stiffened up. "I know he had. One of my many regrets was leaving him behind. It was the most selfish thing I had ever done."

Marie-Laura patted Mandy on the back to make her feel more at ease. "What I don't understand is why you stayed quiet this whole time. I knew you loved John but...you just never said anything."

Mandy sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly, still pretending that these past 10 years were nothing but a nightmare. "We had a good friendship, Marie. I was just...just too afraid to ruin anything," she spoke like a child who had gotten into trouble and was scolded for it.

"And that was when Adrian came long, huh?"

Mandy cocked a brow. "I'm really starting to wonder how you know all this crap," she said bluntly since it was starting to freak her out.

"It's my job to know things," Marie-Laura winked. "Marcus usually kept me in the loop though if you weren't willing to tell me yourself."

Mandy breathed in deeply but choked for a second since she didn't know that it was Marcus telling her all this. "Ah, now it's all starting to come to light. I guess you already knew what happened to him, yeah?" She gave Marie-Laura a knowing look but her expression didn't change at all when this news was brought to her attention. So she already knew, of course.

"I do." Marie-Laura's voice became heavy and she kept her eyes firmly on Mandy's. "But you gotta understand. He went his own way. He lived his life and he lived it long enough so you could have one too. You can say that you've had an awful life...but you can't convince me that you hadn't have met the best kinds of people because of him."

Slowly, Mandy began to feel her throat close up and it took everything in her power to keep herself together. "I know..."

* * *

As Marie-Laura predicted, it took exactly two hours for both her and Robin to draw up a design of what Mandy and John wanted. Mandy gave her free range on what to do with her clothes, so Marie was thinking of putting her in a leather jacket with a bright red lining, a gray turtle neck sweater with black pants and boots. Something simple but with just enough edge to show off Mandy's personality. Needless to say, she was excited to get started.

Marie-Laura walked out of the fitting room just as Robin was wrapping things up and putting things away. John was already sitting on the couch waiting for them to finish. "Robin? Are you done with John's measurements?" she asked.

Robin looked up with a pencil still hanging from his mouth and a notepad in his hand. "Yeah. Do you want me to start making the preparations while you tend to the rest?"

She nodded and handed Mandy's measurements to him. "That'll do. Thank you, dear." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek just before he walked off to get things started so the order could get done faster. "You two come with me," she gestured towards Mandy and John to follow while she walked over to a large bookshelf.

They both stopped in front of the large shelf that was covered head to toe in old books. Some of them were in English but most were in French that all looked like they were still used daily. Marie-Laura pushed against the side of the shelf before signaling Mandy to help her. Together, they succeeded at moving it to the side and revealed a hidden door. It was heavily reinforced and demanded a passcode to get inside, in which Marie-Laura quickly punched in and opened up. After flipping on the light, they saw how big the hidden room actually was. It had six rows of shelving that was perfectly organized with labeled boxes. Some in which were labeled with specific surnames and others were labeled with countries and states.

Just the amount of information in this room left Mandy astonished and almost terrified. "Jesus...Looks like it doubled in the years I've been dead," she muttered and walked down one of the aisles. "Marie, this had to have taken your whole life to collect."

Marie-Laura snickered and joined her in the aisle to look around. "I've been busy." She ran her hand across the dusty boxes until stopping at one that said '_Rome_'. She pulled it from the shelf and walked out of the hidden vault and back over to the coffee table. "I got some pretty good information a couple of months back that might help you get in and out undetected. The place Gianna is having her coronation at, there are catacombs running underneath it." She pulled the lid off and rummaged through the loose sheets of paper until she pulled out a folded up blueprint. The paper was thin and fragile so she opened it up with much care and set it down to show them. "It's dark with thick stone walls and easy hiding spots. It's a good place to be if you're...I don't know, expecting a shoot out," she shrugged innocently, pretending not to know what would happen after all is said and done

Mandy leaned down and counted all the exits she could see. "Don't you need keys for these kinds of places?"

"You do," Marie-Laura said and stepped back into the vault and came out a second later with silver keys in hand. "Which is why I have a copy." She passed them on to John who looked absolutely stunned to know that she had them.

"Why do you have a copy?" he asked but Marie-Laura just smiled at him.

"Why wouldn't I have a copy?" she said in the sweetest voice imaginable.

Mandy reached down and picked up the map, careful not to rip it since she can only imagine how many of these there were in the world. "Can we keep the map too?" she asked

Marie-Laura nodded her head and didn't even hesitate. "Sure. Be my guest." She began to put everything up and put the box away, signaling for John to close the door and cover the vault back up with the shelf. "Will that be it?" she asked, a tinge of sadness slowly crawling to her voice. It's been far too long since she's seen Mandy and she just wished she had more time to talk. Talk about life and what she must've been doing for 10 years. Scared to ask because of the strange weight loss but dying to know because of it.

"No, that's it. Thank's again, Marie." She folded the map up and quickly walked over to hug her since she was starting to feel the dread of leaving too. She squeezed Marie-Laura so tightly that her arms were starting to shake. "Thank you...so much. Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Really. I'm just delighted to know that you're safe." She held Mandy's hands and took a solid minute to look her over, engraving the sight into her mind. "Hold on a minute." Marie-laura turned and swiftly jogged out of the room before coming back a second later with something small in her hand. "Mandy." She raised her hand up and tossed it over to her

Mandy looked down and cocked a brow when she saw that it was a tube of lipstick. "Really?" She turned it over to read the color and scoffed when it said '_Devil's Red_'."Marie!" She couldn't help but laugh when she popped it open and saw the most vibrant shade of red she had ever seen

"If you're going to hell...might as well dress to impress the Devil." Marie-laura winked before playfully and lightly slapping the side of Mandy's face, a lot how Mandy does with John sometimes. "I know you're far from happy right now and I've been where you are, but if you find that you have nowhere to go...my door's always open."


	7. Wick And Rose In Rome

**WICK AND ROSE IN ROME**

The tube of devil's red lipstick. At first, John thought it was a mundane thing to give. A spur of the moment action that held no real purpose or meaning, but that didn't seem to be the case with Mandy. During their travels to Rome, John noticed that she's been keeping it in her pocket the whole time and would occasionally bring it out to fiddle with. She never said anything but would always smile slightly to herself whenever she would touch it.

The strange action left John a bit speechless but it soon dawned on him...that this little thing was a source of encouragement for her. It's something comforting she could grasp a hold of that didn't have any relations to the cold world they were living in right now.

John just assumed that it was something Marie-Laura gave away with no real meaning behind it, but maybe she _did_ give a bit more thought into her actions that day. It was obvious to anyone who knew Mandy that she was quite stressed right now, but maybe that simple tube of bright red lipstick was an attempt to bring her back down to earth and relax. If it was…John would have to thank Marie-Laura for her consideration later.

"Been a while since I've been back to Rome," Mandy said while waiting by the pavement with John, seconds later they crossed the street over to the Continental Hotel of Rome. "You've been back here any time after I left?" she asked, sticking her hand into her pocket yet again to fiddle with the tube of lipstick.

John shrugged once. "Once or twice, I think. I don't remember much of it since I felt like those trips went by pretty fast."

Mandy snorted a bit. "Oh really? Was it because I wasn't shouting in your ear and dragging you around the whole time that it wasn't memorable?"

John thought over the possibilities and realized that she did have a point. When they were younger, Mandy never really left the states so going on a mission in another country was always treated as a small trip for her. There were plenty of times she would drag him to places that she wanted to check out, but Mandy being herself though meant that she was going to be boisterous and rude in public too, as she usually is since she's used to living in New York. Yeah…it was a little embarrassing...but memorable.

"Yeah. That was probably it," he said.

"That's funny." Mandy snickered and patted him hard on the back. "Come on. Let's check-in first and see the Sommelier right after."

John led the way into the hotel while Mandy followed behind. She stopped briefly though and turned her head over her shoulder, spotting a familiar face on the other side of the street watching them like a hawk. It was Ares, acting as a spy and probably reporting their every move back to Santino.

"What a nice little dog." Mandy clicked her tongue and turned to catch back up to John. "Santino's gonna have to be careful...or else someone might put her down."

They walked into the hotel that clearly had a different atmosphere than the one back in New York. The architecture here just felt a lot posher and more elegant. The lobby was huge, and the ceiling was pretty high too with large archways that made the whole place feel older than it actually was. It was because of that though that it made Mandy feel like a mouse standing beside ancient titans.

The concierge welcomed them with a smile when they walked up to her desk. "_Welcome to the Continental of Rome. How might I be of assistance?"_

"_We'd like a room_," John said while sliding a gold coin across the table, which she subtly took and slipped under the counter.

"Jonathan. Mandy," said an old voice from behind. Mandy and John turned around to see who it was and smiled when they saw it was the manager, Julius. An elderly man who looked to be the same age as Winston and carried an equal amount of poise and class, too.

"Julius." John approached him and shook his hand. "Chao."

"Nice to see you two," Julius said before directing his attention to Mandy. He shook her hand too and patted her shoulder kindly. "Especially you, Mandy. I never thought I would see you two walking side by side like this again. It's a pleasant surprise…but at the same time not," he spoke grimly before gesturing for them to take a seat with him. "I fail to recall the last time you were in Rome. And here I'd heard you were retired…or dead," he said, referring to Mandy's absence.

"We both had…in our own ways." Mandy shrugged while taking a seat on the armrest of John's chair.

"Then humor me with but one question…." His eyes took a serious turn when he spoke to them in a language unfamiliar to Mandy. "_Are you here for the Pope?"_

John looked momentarily taken back by what he had just heard and looked to Mandy to see her reaction. She didn't even understand the language though and was completely out of the loop of the conversation. The confusion was clear on her face.

John shifted uncomfortably in his chair for a second before leaning in and whispering. "No."

Julius took a moment to soak up the answer before nodding his head. "Alright, then."

Mandy blinked since she still didn't know what was going on or what was even said. "What was the question?" she asked

John reached up and grasped one of her hands tightly, searching for his own form of relief and comfort. "Don't worry about it."

Julius chimed in while searching his coat pockets for something. "Nothing you need to worry over."

"Really?" Mandy said again.

John cleared his throat and moved his hand up to her tense shoulder, appreciating the fact that she knew no other language but English. "Yes. It's fine. It was just…a simple question."

Mandy cocked a brow. "Alright…sure."

Julius took a breath at that and finally pulled out a card. "One of our finest rooms. Try to enjoy your stay with us," he said with an air of doubt in his voice.

John took the card and held his stare for a second, a knowing look lingering in his eyes that was grim and anxious. "Grazie."

* * *

Mandy peeked her head into the Sommelier's office space and gently tapped her knuckle against the glass door, pulling his attention away from the wide collection of weaponry. Just the sheer variety that this man had was staggering. There were things to handguns, rifles, shotguns, automatics, and assaults. The list was endless. If you had a request, this man would be able to achieve it with great passion and excitement.

The Sommelier turned around once Mandy and John walked in. "Good afternoon, Mr. Wick and Ms. Rose," he said with a stunningly deep voice that sounded tremendously smooth, similar to either silk or velvet. "It's been a long time."

John walked up to the counter. "We'd like a tasting. Something for both Mandy and I," he gestured between the both of them and immediately saw the Sommelier's eyes start to gleam, shinning with excitement and curiosity. It was clear that he was already itching to get started.

"Hm, I see," he muttered to himself and stepped away from the counter to look over the selection. "I know of your past fondness for the German varietals, but I can wholeheartedly endorse the new breed of Austrians for the both of you." He pulled two guns from off the shelf and sat them down gently on the table. "Glock .34 and .26." Both Mandy and John began to inspect each gun individually and tested out the feel in their hands. "Recontoured grips. flared Magwell for easier reloads. And I know Ms. Rose, you'll appreciate the custom porting."

Mandy snickered lightly at that and sat one of the guns down. She never had a type of gun that she favorited and merely went for anything that just felt good in her hands. She always hated the feeling of blocky weapons though and tended to stay away from anything like that. "That's nice. It really is." She paused for a moment to think of what else she was possibly needing. "Got anything, uh…robust and precise?"

"'Robust. Precise,'" he said in a single breath and shrugged slightly, taking an eye over to the rifles behind him and bringing one over for her to inspect. "AR-15, 11.5 inch. Compensated with an ion-bonded bolt carrier. Trijicon Accupoint with one-six magnification."

Mandy turned away from them and looked down the barrel of the rifle while felt the weight in her hand. Her lips cracked up into a sly grin as she giggled, acting as if she had just been given a new toy to play with.

"Will there be anything else?" the Sommelier turned to John to hear his request.

"Could you recommend anything for the end of the night? Something big, bold."

"May I suggest the Benelli m4?" He searched once more and came back a second later with a shotgun in hand. "Custom bolt carrier release and charging handle. Textured grips, should your hands get wet. An Italian classic."

Mandy frowned suddenly and turned back around with a puzzled look on her face. "You call that an Italian classic?"

"Well of course."

She scoffed and turned back to her own weapon and continued to check every little detail on it. "Hm…I think I might need to reevaluate my meaning of the word 'classic'. God...I feel old."

John lowered his head and doubt back the smallest kind of smile, afterward he looked back to the Sommelier. "Dessert?"

The Sommelier smiled at the request. "Dessert," he said graciously and stepped away from the desk for a minute to drag out a box and set it down in front of them. He opened the lid and showed a case full of knives that looked dangerously sharp with a silver sheen. "The finest cutlery," he said and watched anxiously as Mandy pulled a knife out to see. He even began to look a bit uneased when she started to twirl the knife between her fingers too. "I must give you a fair warning first. They're all-"

"Ow! Fuck!" she cursed when the knife sliced across her finger that immediately caused her to drop it. She sucked in a deep breath and stepped away from the desk, covering her cut with her other hand.

"They're all freshly stoned," the Sommelier finished a bit too late and watched as Mandy paced back and forth in the room, tightening her jaw and probably holding back a dam size slur of curse words behind her teeth. "I was going to warn you."

John groaned deeply like he expected something like this to happen. "What are you doing...?" He walked up to her so she would stop pacing like a wild animal. "Mandy…" He grabbed her shoulder to get a better look at the cut but she was stubbornly blocking him from seeing it.

"Don't say anything. Not a single word," Mandy said under her breath and brought the cut to her lips, still preventing him from looking.

"Mandy, please-"

"No. I'm not hearing it."

The Sommelier watched silently as John finally managed to hold Mandy down long enough to look at the cut. "Should I have everything sent to your room?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you." John said while ushering Mandy out the door, in which she stormed out by herself from the embarrassment. She was fine. The cut was nothing but the equivalent of a cardboard cut.

"I do hope you two enjoy your party."

"Thank you." He nodded and waved off the Sommelier before chasing after Mandy.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Mandy's as elegant and classy as a bull in a china shop. I love how out of the loop she is when it comes to a language barrier. I love how John was like "Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it!". ****God...imagine the horror if she could actually learn another language. **

**And for the record, she doesn't understand sign language either. So that's gonna be fun when she's trying to talk to Ares. **


End file.
